Friend or Foe?
by Sargaetorian
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto's been hired to one of the leading technology industries in the world, thanks to a couple of old relations! What he didn't know was that his boss was going to make his life a living hell. He'd never, ever expected to fall for the bastard, either. AU Sasunaru. Boy x boy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Sasunaru galore. Now all I need is to find a plot that's not too overused. But business fics are generally overused…guess you can't knock over all the hurdles, huh?

**Warnings: **Yes, this is Sasuke and Naruto involved romantically.

**Disclaimer:** Kiba is mine.

**Friend or Foe: Chapter 1**

Naruto hurriedly tied his tie, wolfing down a piece of toast and pulling up his pants all at the same time.

"Shit, I'm late! They're _so_ not hiring me if I'm late to the goddamn interview!" Naruto muttered under his breath, checking his reflection in the mirror. Wearing black pants with a black dress shirt, his messy tie as well as the blue stoned necklace he always wore hanging around his neck, he straightened his clothes out and ran a hand through his hair, trying valiantly to tame the messy blonde locks.

"Shit, shit, shit," he swore as he grabbed his bag, deeming his appearance alright for presentation. He ran downstairs, taking four at a time and taking the risk of breaking his neck falling down the stairs as he did every morning.

"Niichan?" A sleepy eyed, black haired boy opened his door, rubbing at his drooping eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Hey Konohamaru," Naruto rushed, patting the boy rather harshly on the head. "I gotta run, I'm gonna be late in-" he stopped and checked his watch. "Fifteen minutes!" he exclaimed, horrified. "Ah shit, they're gonna kill me!"

Konohamaru checked his watch as his uncle rushed about. "But Naruto, it's only three in the morning."

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. "What are you talking about?" He whipped out his own phone, checking the time. "It's already seven!"

"Didn't you remember that the time here is different from back home?" Konohamaru shook his head. Although his uncle was his best friend, the best uncle ever, sometimes Naruto could be as empty headed as a chicken.

"You baka." Konohamaru turned his back on Naruto just as he fell flat on his back as though dead and marched back into his room, shutting the door with a loud snap.

Naruto lay still on the floor, groaning as he passed a hand over his eyes. How could he have forgotten? There went three more hours of his precious sleep. The whole moving incident had really exhausted him; moving halfway across the world for job opportunities. Even around their new apartment, it was scattered with luggage and boxes, the ringing of cars rushing in the downtown area faintly trespassing into the building.

Sitting up, Naruto slowly dragged himself back up the stairs and fell face first into the bed. Just a few more hours…

* * *

"Niichan! It's already half past nine!" He shot up in bed, grabbing the clock and staring at it, trying to focus.

"WHAT?"

"Heh, only pulling your leg-OWW!"

The building was awoken by the sounds of uncle and nephew arguing, clangs and bangs pervading the once quiet building.

* * *

Naruto walked cheerfully out of the building, his clothes fresh and tidy although his hair was still as messy as ever, sticking up at odd spots. Naruto was thankful that the building that belonged to Uchiha Inc. was only a short walk from his apartment.

The streets were jam-packed with civilians, all wearing ties and suits, some taking it easy while others were hurried and brisk. Cars rushed by, the wind generated blowing Naruto's tie in all directions, while the skyscrapers were so high he had to tilt his head all the way back to see the tops.

The Uchiha Inc. headquarters was definitely the tallest, shiniest building of them all. With its decorative exterior, glittering tinted windows, and the magnificent lettering set in a rectangular chunk of marble on the granite steps leading up to the building, the building completely reflected the rich business owners running the HQ.

Naruto took a deep breath before stepping inside the revolving door. When he emerged, the interior was stunning. Chandeliers, red carpeting, and natural light filtered through the large windows, turned bluish by the tint.

The receptionist, a broad shouldered man with triangular tattoos down his cheeks and hair almost as untidy as Naruto's, looked up as the blonde walked in.

"Hey," he greeted, smiling at Naruto. "Your name, buddy?"

"Uzumaki. Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto grinned in response.

"Ah, you're here. Early, too. Wow, didn't peg you as a morning person." The man winked mischievously at Naruto before spinning around and flipping open the door leading into the circular area surrounded by the desk.

"You guessed right." To prove his point, Naruto gave a large yawn.

"Well, fuck, that makes the two of us." Naruto was surprised by the rough language, but he'd taken a liking to the roguish man already. "The name's Kiba."

"Kiba, huh? Looks to me that you've become my best friend around here."

Kiba turned from leading Naruto to the pair of turnstiles set at the back of the ground floor. "Not from around these parts? That's cool," he commented, walking backwards to talk to Naruto. "Unfortunately, not everyone befriends me that easily," he continued, barking out a laugh. "Our two dear co-owners are a part of that crowd."

Naruto looked at him, amused. "You seem like the fight-picking tough kind of guy."

"Hell yeah, that's me," Kiba replied, tugging at his collar and laughing again. He turned upon reaching the turnstiles, swiping a key card he had hanging around his neck on a lanyard. "After you, blondie."

They rounded a corner into a hall lined with doors, no noise whatsoever coming from behind them. "So, where ya taking me?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Just need to interview you. This's the place we normally interview our troops, though Sasuke makes it feel like a torture chamber."

"Sasuke?"

"Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke. Brothers, they own the place. Up and running the company at ages twenty-seven and twenty-two, respectively. Continuing their father's legacy." Kiba responded, unlocking a door at the very end of the hall with the keys dangling on his lanyard.

"Really?" Naruto was intrigued. "This company's really famous, even at home. Do they get out much? No one really knows who the CEOs are."

"Nah. Dark, silent, icy, secluded types. At least, Sasuke is. Itachi's not that bad. Actually," Kiba grinned wolfishly, "I fucking love Itachi."

"But anyway." He sat down in a leather chair at the desk inside the room, a computer and a stack of file folders resting neatly on the surface. He gestured at Naruto to sit down on the chair at the other side of the desk. "Shouldn't I be the one questioning you?"

"Fire away, boss." Naruto gave him a mock salute.

"Alright, only a few questions we gotta get through. Age?"

"Twenty-one, almost twenty-two."

Kiba stared at him while lounging with his arm across the back of his chair. "That young?"

Naruto shrugged modestly. "Graduated with a master's degree pretty early."

"Oh, great, another fucking genius." Kiba carded through his brown hair with his fingers. "And, what did you study in school?"

Naruto shrugged again. "Biomechanics, chemistry, the like."

Kiba wrote something down in the file splayed in front of him. "Give me an example?"

"Built a freezing chamber for cryogenics once. They confiscated it, though. Said it was too dangerous," Naruto scowled.

Kiba whistled while scribbling madly. "Almost on Sasuke's level with that."

"Anything else?" Naruto asked, his palms sweating although he was quite comfortable with Kiba's presence.

Kiba's eyes scanned down the files. "Nope, all done." He snapped the files shut, placing them in a filing cabinet in the corner of the office. "You're hired."

"Just like that?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Aren't you gonna ask me any more questions? Check my background?"

"Nah, you're all set." Kiba grinned. "We have some inside sources regarding you, whom you're gonna meet along the tour I'm giving you."

"Sweet." Naruto's grin almost cracked his face in half as he followed Kiba out the door, retracing their steps as the door banged shut behind them.

"We've been expecting you for a while," Kiba confided to Naruto. "Almost two months. Got everything we needed off of old friends of yours who work here. It's already decided that you're to be promoted to the Chiefs."

"Chiefs?"

"Yeah. Guess you could say it's second in command, though it's nowhere close to the CEO level. On the other hand, you get to supervise everyone else, design freaky awesome shit, and you get the board meetings in the rooms with long ass tables and the Uchiha's themselves. Let me just tell you, they're boring as fuck."

"So you're a Chief?"

"Right on one."

"So, what are you designing at the moment?"

Kiba thought for a moment. "As you already know, we developed the technology for invisibility of small objects and the world's fastest supercomputer among other things. We specialize in engineering , but we have a few rivals competing against us for best technology on the market."

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked as they neared a large, fancy elevator situated just inside the turnstiles.

"Well, we're in a sort of competition between three. They hate our guts, we hate theirs. It's run down to who can build the best car, who can build the best robot, who can build the best gaming console, the like."

"What do you mean by a competition?"

"Man, you question things a lot. We're talking large scale here. We're talking about the leading companies in the world, besides Uchiha Inc. The Sound Company, and Hyuuga Enterprises are all up to bringing us down, adding us to their domains."

Naruto's eyes widened, but Kiba cut him off before he could ask another question.

"We're here. This is the top floor, where our Chiefs as well as our bosses work."

Naruto looked at the digital numbering above the opened elevator doors. "Floor 67?"

"That's the one."

Kiba led Naruto out into the floor. A bit smaller that the gigantic main floor, the floor was sectioned off by white blockades dividing the floor into a miniature maze of offices. Although there were more than enough offices for all the Chiefs, not a single one of them was occupied.

"So…where are they?" Naruto asked, looking at Kiba.

Kiba shot him a smirk, a smirk that Naruto _really_ didn't like to see. He'd seen that look too many times before on Konohamaru's face.

"Come on, then. They're all dying to meet you."

Naruto followed behind Kiba, his eyes darting around, inspecting the workplace for traps.

As he stepped into an open space near the back end of the floor, empty save for a few tables arranged in a row with computers lined across, they pounced.

A writhing mass of bodies jumped Naruto, screaming and cheering, welcoming the new member. Naruto had the wind knocked out of him, though he still managed to laugh along with the others once he had gotten over the shock.

When they had separated, the group brushing their suits down, a woman with two buns on either side of her head, warm brown eyes, Asian features, and a welcoming smile took his hand and helped him up. "Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto brushed himself down in turn. "Speaking," he replied, grinning.

"Tenten." The woman shook his hand vigorously, her voice straight to the point. She turned and looked at the others milling about behind her, pointing them all out in turn to introduce to Naruto. "That one's Chouji. The green freak is Lee-"

"WELCOME TO OUR YOUTHFUL COMPANY, NARUTO-KUN!"

"-the lazy one's Kakashi, the pink one Sakura and the blonde Ino, and Sunglasses is Shino."

"Okay…okay," Naruto said, rolling the newly learned names around in his head. "Anyone else?"

"Come now, Naruto," A familiar, warm voice greeted him. "Surely you haven't forgotten us this soon?"

Naruto turned, seeking out the man that had spoken to him. It couldn't be…

"Iruka!" Naruto yelled happily, bounding over to give the man a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, god, I've missed you _so _much!"

"And I you, little fox." Iruka responded, looking down at Naruto with fatherly affection in his eyes while he scratched the scar running across his nose. "Though I can't exactly call you little anymore."

"Hah! What did I tell you, I told you I'd grow to be as tall as you are! How's the old hag and the pervert?"

"They're fine, Naruto. Missed you a lot. And must you continue to use such insulting terms?" Iruka sighed, but Naruto only smiled wider in response.

"Can't grow out of some old habits, can you, Daddy?"

A new voice suddenly reached his ears. "What about us? Don't tell me you don't recognize us, that would be a pain." The lazy, sarcastic drawl could only be from one person.

"Shika! Gaara!" Naruto removed his arms from Iruka, instead running over to wrap them around the two of them.

"You still look the same as ever, Shika," Naruto joked, running his eyes across his childhood friends. "Getting enough sleep, Gaara?" He asked the redhead, holding the shorter man's face in his hands just as he used to as a kid and running his thumbs gently along the black rings circling Gaara's teal eyes.

"Not really, since I spent every night wishing you'd come back sooner," he rasped. "The insomnia didn't help too much either."

"I've missed you two so fucking much." However he tried to stop it, the lump wouldn't budge from his throat. It was too much, seeing his self adopted foster parent as well as his two best friends when he hadn't seen then in almost eight years.

Sakura and Ino came over, the rest of the Chiefs following.

"Welcome to the family, Naruto!" She yelled, wrapping her arm around Naruto's shoulders.

"WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY!" was the piercing yell that was echoed by the rest of the team.

Just then, the door to a secluded office in the corner of the room banged open, a raven haired man storming out while a taller but identical copy of him strolled out behind.

"Now, now, Sasuke-chan, don't be too harsh on them!" The taller man singsonged.

"Itachi," Sasuke gritted his teeth, looking back at Itachi, "That is not my fucking name! And you all!" he roared, pointing at the crowd gathered around Naruto. "What is all this noise?"

"He's in a bad mood, the Prince is," Kiba whispered into Naruto's ears while Sakura and Ino started swooning. "Don't mind them."

"Why, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura drawled, flipping her pink hair out of her face. "We were only welcoming the newest addition to our team!" She pointed to Naruto.

Naruto felt his eyes narrow as the raven-haired man called Sasuke looked down at him, cold indifference apparent in his gaze. No, this was not going to be fun with him around.

"Well," Naruto began, scathing sarcasm in his voice. "I can see where the stick-in-the-ass bastard boss stereotype came from. What's with the look, asshat?"

When a faint wash of red appeared on Sasuke's pale cheeks, Kiba and Itachi snorted loudly while the rest of the team tried valiantly to hide their smiles. It wasn't just everyone who could talk to Sasuke like that, and it had to be a record of how fast Naruto had managed to get a reaction out of Sasuke.

Sasuke chose to say nothing, dark eyes swirling with anger combating blue ones filled with rebellion and mischief.

And then Sasuke spoke, a smirk appearing on the left side of his mouth. "Dobe. Welcome to hell."

**A/N: **How ya liking it? Review and tell me what you think! And at this point, I don't really know where this story's going. Might have to come back and edit a few things later. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Sarge, out.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **For now, Masked is going off the site, because I need time to think of what I really want the plot to be like. And also I like this fic better ^.^ And without further ado, here's the next chapter in FoF.

**Disclaimer: **Kishi-chan! Give Kiba back! D:

**Chapter Two**

Naruto jammed the key into his lock, twisting it and then opening the door, yanking the key out. He made to sit down on the couch and rest for a bit, but the little missile zooming toward him and wrapping around his legs made that a tad bit difficult.

"Missed you, Niichan!" Naruto looked down to see the happily smiling face of his nephew, the bright pink flush that normally sat across his cheeks bringing a smile to Naruto's own face.

"After only six hours? Oh, what would you do without me?" Naruto bent and gave Konohamaru a kiss on the forehead, which Konohamaru promptly wiped off with a scowl on his face.

"You remember what tomorrow is, don'tcha?" He asked in his childish manner of speaking.

"Of course, sunshine! It's a big deal when you turn nine," Naruto chuckled, swinging a coat over his shoulder. "You ready to go now?"

"Ready to go where?" Konohamaru asked curiously.

"Your almost-birthday dinner!" Naruto shouted happily, ruffling the fluffy black mess atop the boy's head, being careful not to disturb the signature goggles.

"Yessss!" Konohamaru cheered, grabbing his uncle's hand and attempting to drag him out the door.

"Whoa there, kiddo." Naruto reached over to the kitchen table to grab his wallet. "Lemme get my stuff together. Aren't you gonna ask me how work was?"

Konohamaru clasped his hands next to his cheeks, fluttering his eyelashes and singing in a shrill voice, "How was work, honey?"

"Fucking bastard of a boss." This was one of the only traits that distinguished their relationship as uncle and nephew rather than father than son. Naruto swore openly around the kid, though Konohamaru didn't mind. "Stupid, arrogant prick thought it'd be funny to dump water all over my head."

"Is that why your shirt's wet?" Konohamaru asked, eying the wet stain on Naruto's shirt collar, the stain barely visible in the warm light of the kitchen.

"You bet." Naruto replied grimly, practically ripping the buttons off of his shirt as he tore it off. "I'll be damned if I don't catch a cold."

"It's still summer," Konohamaru pointed out.

"Don't be pedantic!" Naruto was determined to lay the blame on Sasuke. When Naruto was tressed in a plain t-shirt, a jacket, and black jeans instead of his formal wear, Konohamaru spoke again.

"Where are we going to eat?"

"Hmm…sushi?"

Konohamaru jumped up and down, squealing with joy. "Yes! I haven't had sushi in ages! Can we go tomorrow too? Please, please, please?"

Naruto sighed, but relented with a loving grin. "Alright, kiddo."

"You're the best, Niichan!"

"Heh, you know it."

* * *

They got out of the taxi, thanking the driver and tipping profusely. Konohamaru's eyes were wide, the reflection of the glowing letters shining in his eyes.

"It's big."

"This is the biggest city in the world, Squirt. 'Course it's big." Naruto stared around at the thousands of lights illuminating the streets and the building. "Beautiful at night, too."

Konohamaru grabbed his hand, leading him into the building. "Come on!"

The inside was full of crystal chandeliers over a high ceiling, marble floors and fancy carpeting. They walked in through crowds of people entering and exiting.

"Damn, the line's long. We're gonna be here a while yet, buddy." Naruto lifted Konohamaru off the ground and set him on his shoulders, the boy laughing with delight.

Just then, the man before them in line waiting to get a table turned. Naruto was greeted by familiar triangular tattoos down the man's cheeks.

"Naruto, my man!" Kiba grinned widely. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Kiba, m'boy!" Naruto yelled in return above the noise of the atmosphere, Konohamaru folding his arms atop Naruto's head and laying his chin down, staring curiously at Kiba.

Kiba gave the little boy a salute, making Konohamaru blush and duck his head. "He your son?"

"Haha, nope. Might as well be, though." Naruto bounced his shoulders up and down, laughing as Konohamaru yelped, then winced as his hair was grabbed. "Love the little monster to death. It's his birthday tomorrow, so we're gonna be here tomorrow as well." He added, reaching up and tickling his nephew. "Kid loves sushi almost as much as I love ramen."

"Why Sasuke, look! It's your new friend!" Itachi turned from ahead of Kiba, Sasuke turning as well. The sight of the bastard made the smile drop from his face.

Itachi walked up to Naruto, pulling his brother behind him. "Why hello there!" He greeted Konohamaru, tall enough to look him in the eyes.

Konohamaru stared shamelessly at the tall Uchiha in front of him before asking down to Naruto in a very audible voice, "Is he the fucking stupid prick bastard of a boss?"

Kiba and Itachi roared in laughter at this, holding their knees as they shook in laughter. Naruto flushed very slightly as Sasuke glared daggers at him. "Kono-chan, don't say bad words in public."

"Ah, so he's not?" Konohamaru noticed Sasuke. "He looks angry, Niichan."

"That rule doesn't go for Sasuke-teme, though. You can swear as much as you like." In turn, Naruto glared at Sasuke. "Why are you here with them, Kiba?" Naruto turned to the other man, who was wiping tears of laughter away from his face.

"Last year, Sasuke decided that I was his new best friend." Sasuke snorted behind them. "Ever since, we've hung out together a lot."

"He has _friends?_"

"Don't count yourself among them, dobe."

"How many people?" the lady at the register asked sweetly. They were already at the front of the line? Itachi swept in to answer for them.

"Table for five, please."

"Which five?"

Itachi pointed at himself, then Sasuke, then Kiba, and then at the Naruto and Konohamaru, making Naruto's eyes go wide.

"Alright. Follow me, then."

As they were being led away, Naruto hissed at Itachi, "What the hell? You want us all to sit together?"

"Of course!" Itachi smiled back. "It's my pleasure!"

"Not for the bastard, though! We're gonna kill each other!" Naruto argued.

"Nonsense, I can already see the two of you becoming best of friends."

"A likely story," Sasuke snorted. Fucking Itachi.

"Now, now, Sasuke. Is that any way to talk to your brother?"

"There are certain exceptions you have to make when your brother is someone like _you._

From his position atop Naruto's head, Konohamaru giggled. "Niichan, the tall one's funny."

"Which one?" Though he was loath to admit, he was the shortest of the group. Though he wasn't small by any means, he was still a good four inches shorter than Sasuke and Kiba and nearly seven inches shorter than Itachi.

Whoever said it was a small world clearly was a fucking giant.

"Itachi-san!" Konohamaru told him.

"Here you are!" The woman said pleasantly, gesturing at a carved wooden table in the midst of others, the restaurant crowded with talking couples, families, and friends. They took their seats, Naruto and Konohamaru seated between Kiba and Itachi, while Sasuke kept his distance from all of them.

"Oh, loosen up, will ya? You're acting like a fucking princess," Naruto snarled.

"Is that any way to talk to your betters?" Sasuke retorted smoothly.

"Like hell I'll ever accept you as my better!"

"Ah, you know it, you just won't accept it."

"Fuck you!"

Kiba and Itachi watched the exchange with mild amusement and interest, while Konohamaru picked up a menu, scanning over it.

"Niichan," he said quietly, tugging at Naruto's sleeve and interrupting his shouts of "BASTARD!"

"I want these," he declared.

Naruto's eyes swept over the menu, then bugged out. "All of them?!"

"Yes!" Konohamaru shouted proudly.

"Aw, come on, Squirt, we'll be here tomorrow too! How about a quarter of the menu, eh?"

Konohamaru looked disappointed, then perked up again. "So I can have the rest tomorrow?"

"All that and more, kiddo."

"Alright." He sat back in the chair, waiting for the others to make their orders.

Itachi himself looked over the menu, then hailed a waiter dressed in a fancy uniform. "Everything on the menu, please."

Naruto tried to intervene. "Wait, come on now, we don't need all that!"

Itachi smiled cheerily at the waiter. "Make that double."

"WHAT?"

* * *

Their food came in the form of five waiters and waitresses each carrying two or three silver platters of all the sushi you could possibly imagine. Naruto could practically see the sushi-lust forming in Konohamaru's coal black eyes.

"Kono-chan, your eyes are turning into hearts and you're drooling," he told the boy, nudging him.

Konohamaru shut his mouth, glaring ruefully at Naruto. "That's exactly what you look like when you stare at your precious ramen."

"Excuse you!"

"You'd marry that stuff if you could. Niichan!"

"I had a boyfriend, Konohamaru!"

The last sentence caught Sasuke's attention, and he leaned forward in his chair. The action didn't go unnoticed by Kiba.

"And he was obsessed about your-"

"SHHHH!" Naruto swung a light punch at Konohamaru, hitting his jaw. "Not in public!"

"You can't make me!"

Naruto looked to Kiba at this, catching his eyes. "Kiba, it's time for the big guns."

Kiba grinned wolfishly. "Aye aye, Captain."

And so, much to the amusement of the people around them as well as the others at their table, Kiba and Naruto began their assault on Konohamaru, tickling him until tears ran from his eyes from laughter, his chest was heaving in struggles to breath, his stomach and cheeks aching and he writhed weakly, trying to escape. Somewhere in their frenzy, they barely noticed Itachi's soft laughter and completely missed the smile on Sasuke's face, as much as he tried to hold it back.

"What's with the look, Sasuke?" Itachi asked impishly.

"You know I have a soft spot for kids."

"I doubt that it's just the kid there. Perhaps-"

"No," Sasuke cut him off aggressively. "Don't even start."

Itachi shrugged, "Whatever you say."

Sasuke opened his mouth to reply to this, but instead shut it when Naruto and Kiba turned to the two siblings, having finished the torture session with Konohamaru.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the boy was still half laughing, half sobbing.

"Awe, you know I love you," Naruto teased, ruffling the boy's hair as he always did.

Konohamaru stuck out his tongue at Naruto, and with that, they dug into their meal.

Sasuke watched Naruto and his nephew interact, always joking and mock arguing. It was quite interesting, really. His uncle had been all about his studies, while Naruto seemed more brotherly and friendly to Konohamaru. It just went to show how differently they'd been brought up, Sasuke decided.

Upon discovering the blonde was interested in men, Sasuke hadn't been able to stop his discreet glances at Naruto. He'd never really paid attention to how…good looking the blonde really was. Being homosexual himself, he always appreciated a handsome man when he saw one. And well, Naruto? Naruto was pretty much the jackpot.

With golden hair looking like it had been woven of sunshine, it contrasted well with his tanned skin. The clear azure of his eyes was a sight rarely seen in these parts, and his figure was smaller in stature, nimble and lean whereas Sasuke was toned and muscular. Everything about the blonde screamed loudness and uniqueness.

But he was a dobe; Sasuke could never, ever fall for him. He scoffed at the very thought.

Watching Naruto's rowdy antics with his nephew and his brother and Kiba, though Sasuke tried to stop it, he couldn't help but feel his gaze soften just a fraction.

At that moment, Naruto and Konohamaru were yet again having a friendly yelling match.

"Quit eating if you're full, Squirt!"

"I'm not a squirt, and I can eat more!"

"You're gonna kill yourself, man!"

"No I will not, Naruto! I want more!"

"Kiba-"

"NOOO! Naruto-niichan, please, just a few more pieces!" Konohamaru pleaded, making the puppy eyes that Naruto had never been able to resist.

"…Fine," Naruto caved, rolling his eyes. "Although, our friend Kiba's already wolfed them all down, Ko-Chan." Naruto held back a sadistic laugh at Konohamaru's sagging of shoulders, even though he did feel kind of bad. It was almost his birthday, after all.

A motion out of the corner of Naruto's eye made him turn his head. Sasuke had pushed his plate across the table and set it in front of Konohamaru.

"There you go." Sasuke sat back down and crossed his arms, looking as icy as ever despite the kindness he'd just displayed.

"…Thanks, teme." Naruto received no answer, but he didn't particularly want one either. It was a pain, literally and figuratively, to even thank the bastard.

Konohamaru smiled at Sasuke, receiving a faint upturning of Sasuke's lips though his eyes stayed icy, and gulped down the food as quickly as he could before his uncle snatched it away.

"Sasuke-san's not as bad as you say," Konohamaru looked at Naruto accusingly. "Come on, Niichan, admit it. Sasuke's nice."

"What? Hell no! Konohamaru, do you understand what you just asked?" Naruto was appalled, while Itachi choked on his water and Kiba snorted loudly.

"Say itttt," Konohamaru drawled. "Or I'll do that thing I did with all your clothes again!"

Naruto thought for a minute, then sighed. That incident was much better forgotten. He turned to Sasuke grudgingly, shooting daggers at Sasuke's midnight black ones.

"Sasuke's very nice." He said in a flat monotone, not quite meeting Sasuke's eyes.

"Good." Konohamaru smirked at Naruto and tried to sit up, but sat back down, groaning in pain.

"Augh, I ate too much, Niichan!"

What did I tell you!" Naruto was on Konohamaru in an instant. "Are you alright? Does it hurt? Do you need to go to a doctor?"

Konohamaru pushed Naruto away, though he was glad of Naruto's concern. "I'm fine, my tummy just hurts."

"Oh really?" Kiba poked at Konohamaru's swollen stomach, laughing when Konohamaru giggled and tried to push his hand away.

"Kiba-Niichan, it tickles."

Meanwhile, Itachi yet again hailed a waiter and asked for the bill. He came back seconds later with a frighteningly long receipt.

"Here, I'll pay," Naruto offered, already reaching in his pocket for his wallet.

"No, you will not." Kiba retorted. He had his wallet out as well.

"We'll pay." Sasuke's flat offer-or rather, statement-came as a shock to all the members at the table.

"No, I'll have to pay you back otherwise. I'll pay," Naruto argued.

Sasuke's gaze flitted to Konohamaru for a split second before returning to meet Naruto's. "Consider it a present to your boy."

"I'll pay tomorrow! My treat to him," Kiba said warmly.

"Who said you're coming with us tomorrow?" Naruto demanded.

"Says all of the team." Kiba held up his phone, the phone buzzing as text after text was received by it.

"Oh, you son of a gun."

"It's our pleasure."

They paid for the meal, a price that would have surely emptied Naruto's life savings had he paid. But seeing as Sasuke and Itachi were multi-billionaires, the price hardly dented their bank account, as high as it was.

As they headed out into the cool night air, the downtown alive with lights as cars rushed past crowds of loud teenagers and gossiping couples. Naruto stepped into the street to hail a taxi, but Itachi pulled his arm down.

"We've got a few extra seats. You can hitch a ride."

"Itachi," Sasuke tried to protest, but he was silenced with a dangerous look from Itachi. As crazy and lunatic as he seemed, Uchiha Itachi was a dangerous man when he got down to business.

"Why are you being so nice to them?" Sasuke hissed as their limousine pulled up, Konohamaru's hushed whispers of awe reaching his ears faintly as Kiba and Naruto got in.

"Hmmm…" Itachi hummed as they too piled in after them. "There's just something different about our little Naru-chan, don't you think?"

As Sasuke thought about it, a small smirk graced his lips as the limousine drove off in the direction of Naruto's apartment. "Yes, he is, isn't he?"

The limousine drove off into the night as its occupants merrily chatted, with the odd argument along the way, just as though they were the best of friends. With the exception of one broody raven and one energetic blonde.

**A/N: **Reviews? Please? Tell me if you like the story? I'll be back with more, hopefully tomorrow!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I don't think writing fanfiction is good for my neck. Oww, it hurts. It's cracking more than usual as well. And about this story, I've started to edit my stories. Haunted House was more of a fun little project, and I want this to be more serious. Though it's humor, of course. I've also noticed I have a little tendency of rushing my stories, so I'll be taking more time to write them. Otherwise I'll start cringing whenever I read my own stories. Though this chapter, I really needed to get a move on. So this will be sloppy, but I'll make it as presentable as I can. Consider it a filler, an optional read. The story will get back on track in a couple of days!

**Disclaimer: **I want Itachi now.

**Chapter Three**

"Niichan, time to get up!" Konohamaru sang happily, leaping onto Naruto's stomach. Naruto doubled up in bed, eyes going wide and his hands pushing Konohamaru off.

"Goddammit, Squirt, didn't I tell you not to do that?" He scolded, arms wrapping around his middle.

"But you wouldn't wake up," Konohamaru retorted, "And anyway, you have to be at work in fifteen minutes."

Naruto turned his head to his clock resting on the bedside table. 7:00 AM. He turned back to his evilly grinning nephew.

"…when did you wake up?"

"Oh, about an hour ago. Why?'"

"You little brat! Why didn't you wake me up? I'm going to kill you!" Naruto shouted, throwing his blankets off his body and sliding out of bed, chasing Konohamaru well out of his room all while shouting various threats to the boy.

"This is what I get for bringing the kid with me," he muttered darkly, shutting the door so he could change in peace. He pulled his phone out of the back pocket of the pants he had worn yesterday, throwing them back to the ground once he had dialed Kiba's number.

The phone rang for a brief moment before the other line was answered. "Hello?" Iruka's groggy voice reached his ears.

"Hey, Iruka, my man!" Naruto greeted, desperation hitching in his voice. "You on your way to work?" He pulled on a business suit, fancier than the dress code of their workplace required, but he _really_ didn't have the time to sort through his luggage to find a more casual outfit.

"Yeah, do you need a ride?"

"Guessed it in one."

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

"You're the best." Naruto hung up, racing out of his room and into his bathroom across the hall. He practically ripped his mouth to shreds as he brushed his teeth as fast as he could, while tearing through his blonde tangles with a comb at the same time. Inwardly, Naruto sighed. He could already tell that this was soon going to become a routine.

Once done, he splashed his face with cold water, wincing as it froze his face. Blinking water out of his eyes, he fumbled with the tie around his neck, tugging at the black cord around his neck to bring the blue stone to the front of his chest. Just as he grabbed his bag from the dinner table and shoved his feet into whatever shoes he could find, the doorbell rang.

"See ya later, kiddo!" Naruto called behind his shoulder before flinging the door open and disappearing behind it. Konohamaru, seated in front of their TV with a bowl of cereal, only shook his head at his father's disorderly state and went back to surfing through the channels.

"Heya, Dad." Naruto greeted, climbing into the back seat of the car behind Kakashi and Iruka. Kakashi gave him a look, his one eye visible while the other was covered by the man's wild silver hair, the curious mask covering half of his face.

"Don't I get a hello, Na-kun?"

Naruto rolled his eyes at Kakashi. Although he'd only met the man yesterday, Naruto found Kakashi to be the perfect man for his already perfect adoptive father. In short, Naruto adored Kakashi. "Hey, Kaka-chan."

"Maa," Kakashi turned back to face the road. "That would be cute, if you were only a kid."

"Who's to say I'm not still a kid at heart?" Naruto flashed Kakashi a grin through the rearview mirror.

Kakashi smiled himself, his strange mask shifting around his lips. "No one's saying any different, kid."

"Oh, you sneaky bastard. How come all of you have to turn my words back on me?" Naruto pouted, sliding down a bit in his seat.

"The ones with emotional issues are always the most fun to tease."

"Excuse me? We'll see who has the emotional issues after this, Kakashi!"

The two bickered back and forth until Iruka pulled up to the familiar steps of their workplace. "We're here," he said rather sharply.

Kakashi and Naruto had both heard that tone of voice too many times, and as a result, they shied away and closed their mouths. Exiting the car, the three made their way up the steps and into the bustling building, Kakashi and Naruto 'accidentally' bumping into each other one after another. Their game stopped, however, when Kakashi nudged a little too haird, making Naruto fly into Iruka, knocking them both off balance.

"WILL YOU TWO STOP IT!"

* * *

"Shit!" Naruto jumped as Sasuke walked by his place at the long table set up for their coworkers, since not one of them wanted to work alone in a boring, isolated office. Naruto stood up furiously, the hot coffee staining his coat steaming. He could practically hear the stuff singeing a hole through his jacket. "You fucking bastard!"

Sasuke said nothing, merely continuing to smirk triumphantly. "Dobe. It's only just begun, your life of hell."

"Augh!" Naruto stood up so fast that his chair shooting back from his legs narrowly missed braining Sasuke. Although, at this point, Naruto would have been happy to see the white walls behind him painted with Sasuke's blood. He marched stiffly toward Itachi and Sasuke's joint office, holding his jacket away from his chest as to avoid burning it.

He flung open the door, causing it to bang off of the walls, making Itachi look up in one chain reaction. "Itachi! I can't work with this _JERKFACE!" _He shouted, pointing furiously at Sasuke, who still stood in the same position with the same maddeningly smug smirk.

Itachi only glanced up at him, amusement swirling in his black eyes, and gestured for Sasuke to come over. Heading across to the room in long strides, he shut the door with a click behind him.

"I think you two need to sort out your problems, don't you? You're causing quite a distraction amongst our staff." Itachi told them pleasantly, pointing to the small rectangular windows where their Chief team stood, as well as with a considerable number of other workers, with their faces pressed against the window, each trying to watch the show with no shame whatsoever. Sasuke and Naruto had become somewhat famous, their actions both shocking and entertaining.

"Sit over there, and talk it out." Itachi pointed to Sasuke's desk.

"When did you become a counselor?" Naruto muttered under his breath, taking his seat across from Sasuke's desk, the computer pushed off to the side so that both men could (unwillingly) look at each other while they spoke.

"So." Naruto started.

"Hn."

"Eloquent, aren't you?" Naruto snarled, his blood pressure already rising.

"Dobe, at least I'm not a walking, talking comedy show wherever I go," Sasuke replied calmly.

The room, with its curtains drawn so that little light filtered through, suddenly began to feel even colder and darker as the two men stared unblinkingly at each other.

"At least I got in here for my brains, not because I was the son of some rich landowner."

"I think it's quite clear, actually, who the smart one is over here."

"Is it? You fucking bastard…" Naruto growled, his legs tensing and his fist clenching and unclenching as it begged to plant itself soundly in Sasuke's jaw.

"Didn't I tell you to watch your tone while you talked to your betters?"

Itachi dove across the room to pull Naruto away from Sasuke as the blonde launched himself across the table.

* * *

That day, much to the amusement of the entire building's staff, Sasuke and Naruto were no longer allowed within three feet of each other.

* * *

Kiba rounded a corner into the left hall outside of Sasuke's office, finding the man at the water cooler. He stood for a second, waiting for Sasuke to notice him as said man gulped down a glass of water.

Lowering the glass, Sasuke didn't even turn. "Yes, Kiba?"

Kiba leaned casually against the wall, his lips stretched over his teeth in a smirk, showing off abnormally sharp canines.

"You like him, don't you?"

Sasuke was silent. After the seconds began to drag, he finally spoke. "I don't know what you're talking about." His cold tone didn't deter Kiba at all. Rather, his smirk grew larger.

"You know who. That little ball of golden sunshine and happiness that seems to annoy you so much."

"I'm not interested in that foul-mouthed embarrassment."

"Come on, Sasuke, I've known you since high school. I saw you staring last night; Uchiha Sasuke never, ever stares. Just fess up."

"Inuzuka, I am not attracted to that blonde dobe!" Sasuke growled, not a hint of doubt in his voice.

"I've never seen you get so angry at another person other than Itachi.

"Yeah, you just don't realize it." Kiba walked in front of Sasuke, forcing him to look Kiba in the eyes. "You know I'll keep bothering you about this till you confess, right?"

"…Yeah." Sasuke averted his eyes. "But that doesn't mean I will ever fall for him."

"You already have," sniggered Kiba.

"Keep that up and I'll fire you."

"Shit, man! Alright, I'm sorry!" Muttering something under his breath about stupid Uchihas and their abusage of power, the man hurried back to his coworkers with his tail tucked between his legs.

Sasuke watched Kiba leave, amusement registering on his face. Then he scowled, slamming his fist into the water cooler, not caring that water started leaking as a result of the force.

"I am not fucking in love with that dobe." His voice was sure and confident, as it always was. So distracted and disturbed by Kiba's accusation he was that he didn't even notice Kakashi give him a weird look when he walked past.

Things were about to get interesting, here in the HQ.

* * *

Kakashi didn't know just how right he was.

As soon as the team returned from their lunch break, they rode the elevator up to the 67th floor. Laughing and joking on the long way up, they were all immediately silenced when the elevator door dinged open…

…to find Naruto and Sasuke rolling around on the ground, each trying to gain the upper hand. Obscenities and insults were flying like bullets out of the blonde as he grappled and wrestled with the CEO under him, Sasuke holding his own well and retorting with slightly less profane comments, although they were just as biting, enraging Naruto further. Like dogs over a scrap of meat, they were so hooked up in their brawl that they didn't even notice the ten individuals, including Itachi, watching, struck speechless.

Hands were slick and hair was dripping with sweat, their clothes crumpled and almost inhuman snarls coming from their throats. Naruto saw only a red haze as he tried to kill Sasuke. Only Sasuke evaded the punches and kicks with surprising agility, frustrating Naruto to no end as none of his punches landed a hit. He was on top, then Sasuke was on top, then it was he again, and then-

"Whoa there, Sunshine. That's your boss you're attacking." A pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders, dragging him back while rendering his arms immobile. As his vision returned to normal, he saw Sasuke in the same position, held by Itachi as the taller man spoke to him with a teasing smile on his face.

Naruto shook his head and glared up, meeting the twinkling eyes of Kiba and Kakashi. Before he could yell at them to release him, the silver haired man spoke.

"Now, now. There'll be plenty other times to get rough and sweaty with each other."

Kiba whispered something in Kakashi's ear that Naruto couldn't quite catch, only being able to make out the word "bed."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the pair, both of whom were grinning madly.

"You know, I think I liked you better when you two weren't whispering the perverted behind my back."

Meanwhile, Sasuke was standing up to his full height, brushing off his suit while Itachi berated him in much the same manner as Kakashi and Kiba did to Naruto.

"I haven't ever seen you go that low, Sasuke. I wonder…"

"You and Kiba are dead men." Sasuke's voice was still full of anger.

"What the hell was going on?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide.

"He pushed the up button on the elevator!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Sasuke dramatically while at the exact same time, Sasuke pointed at Naruto.

"He pushed the down button!"

"Does it really matter?" Ino asked, looking with humor at the childish adults.

"Yes!" They both shouted. "Everyone knows the elevator takes longer if you push both buttons!"

The entire team simply stared, then shook their heads in despair. Who knew that the blonde and their CEO would turn out to be this stupid?

* * *

From that point on, Naruto and Sasuke were both forced to either take separate elevators or, much to their displeasure, take the stairs.

* * *

Naruto and the rest of the team trailed behind Itachi and Sasuke, Naruto complaining loudly while the others snickered behind his back.

"This is going to take me weeks to get out!" He yelled, tugging at his suit that was stained with coffee, Coke, and numerous other beverages as a result of Sasuke's abuse. He did feel a bit better, though, upon seeing the giant ice cream spot right in the middle of Sasuke's five hundred dollar dress shirt. The look on his face upon Naruto dumping a cone of the cold stuff had made Naruto's week.

Except, of course, even that couldn't beat his little nephew. Konohamaru was Naruto's pride and joy, and he loved the little rascal like a father did a son. He always looked forward to seeing the kid's flushed, chubby cheeks adorned with that contagious smile every day he came home from school or work. Yes, they went back a very long way, Konohamaru being taken under Naruto's wing when he turned eighteen as a result of Konohamaru's grandfather passing. Konohamaru was still a bit sad about it, as Naruto would see when he stared forlornly out their window, but to be honest, the kid was one of the happiest he'd ever seen. Naruto wanted to give him the best birthday today he'd ever experience…although Naruto promised himself that every year.

"You all still coming with us?" He asked, throwing the question over at the rest of his team, the coworkers now becoming more friends than business colleagues.

"Hell yeah!" Kiba shouted, while the others cheered in support. Even the ever-quiet Shino raised his hand, gesturing that he would go.

Naruto grinned, then turned towards the two CEOs walking out the doors of the building in front of them.

"Itachi, you coming?" He asked, catching the door and scowling at Sasuke. The damn teme had purposefully tried to shut the heavy glass on him, he was sure of it.

"Hmm…" Itachi hummed, absently staring in front of his feet at the marble and granite steps.

"Oh come on, you have to! Kono-chan loved you last night!"

"Huh?" Itachi seemed to snap out of his stupor while Sasuke stared curiously at him. "Yeah, my dear little brother and I will definitely be celebrating." Sasuke's concerned look immediately melted into a murderous glare, which he turned to Naruto. In turn, Naruto fired back a look promising slow and painful death, none of them backing down until Shikamaru coughed into his hand.

"There'll be plenty of time to stare lovingly into each others' eyes later."

Naruto and Sasuke both whirled on Shikamaru, their actions mirroring each other. "Shut up, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru appeared affronted for a split second, but the look quickly reverted back into his usual bored one. "What a pain," he muttered under his breath. "They're turning into each other."

The large group made their way into the streets where their cars were parked, chatting amicably along the way. Or at least, everyone but Sasuke and Shino. Shino was a strange one, keeping to himself most of the time and never seen without a pair of sunglasses either perched on his handsome face or hanging around his neck. Even though Naruto barely knew the man, he decided that he liked the fellow and had no problem pulling him into the conversation.

"Alright, I think we should each drive to Naruto's and get the little prince, maybe throw a mini surprise party, then head back to the restaurant together." Tenten said bossily.

"Sounds like a plan-except my brother will need to get dressed for the occasion." Sasuke's eyes darkened at Itachi's words while Naruto's mouth curled up in an evil grin.

"Well you two can meet us there-I'll give Naruto a ride. You all can just tag along behind us," interjected Kiba before things could get heated once more.

"Lead the way, mate!" Naruto bounced along happily behind Kiba, looking along the line of cars parked at the sidewalk. "Which one of those lovely machines is yours?"

Kiba pointed him toward a sleek, black Porsche. Naruto's mouth dropped to the ground as the others piled into their separate cars, Itachi and Sasuke into their personal limousine.

"No. Fucking. Way." Naruto gaped at the car, then at Kiba. "How did you get this baby? They'd put you hundreds of thousands back!"

"Yeah," Kiba agreed with a smile. "Been saving up for this one for almost years, man. At the end, Sasuke pitched in. Said it was a birthday present," Kiba snorted, "But it was August, and my birthday's in January."

"Hmph." Naruto crossed his arms and looked away at the mention of Sasuke's name. "I would probably try to be nice to the damn teme, if he wasn't such a high-and-mighty bastard."

Kiba looked thoughtful for a moment as he fingered the handle of the door, the wind rushing by from the cars rushing down the street ruffling his clothes and his hair. "Sasuke's not all bad once you get to know him. He has a good heart," Kiba proclaimed dramatically, "but he can also be a cold-hearted son of a gun."

"He has a cold heart, but a good one as well. Sure thing," Naruto repeated skeptically. "Hey, can I drive?"

Kiba stepped away from the driver's side door. "Be my guest."

* * *

"I am _never_ letting you drive EVER AGAIN!" Kiba yowled as he hung on to the edges of his seat for dear life, eyes wide as he stared through the windshield.

"Don't worry, I've never been pulled over once." Naruto assured him, his hands gripping the steering wheel. "Besides, I'm rather impatient."

"No shit!" Kiba screamed, yelping as the car swerved sharply again. "Look out for the truck! LOOK OUT FOR THE TRUCK!"

Naruto jerked the steering wheel and flashed Kiba a smile. "Thanks, Kibby, m'boy."

"You are so dead if we die here, Uzumaki! STAY ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD!"

"Ah, but look! We're here!" Cheerfully, Naruto slammed on the brakes, shutting down the smoking engine and hopping out in front of his apartment, Kiba slowly getting out and leaning on the car as he waited for the dizziness to go away.

"That was like a goddamn roller coaster ride, you fucking crazy asshole."

"Eh, what's life without a couple of heart attacks?" Naruto waved at the cars piling at the sidewalk, the cars that belonged to their friends.

"I'd like to live my life without those, thank you very much." Kiba's voice was still shaky, and as the Chiefs got out, they crowded around Kiba in concern.

"Still haven't changed your driving habits, have you?" Gaara sidled up to Naruto as the rest helped Kiba to stand by himself. "One day or another, you're gonna be either jailed or killed."

"Admit it, Gaara. You always let me drive your car. You loved me," Naruto patted the shorter man in a demeaning manner on the head, causing a slight blush on Gaara's face.

"Your ego is still as diluted as I remember it."

"Hey, it's not my fault you people continue to feed it."

Once Kiba's knees stopped trembling and he no longer seemed in danger of vomiting, they entered the building and ran up the stairs to Naruto's apartment. Outside, Naruto put a finger to his lips, warning the team to be quiet.

Naruto unlocked the door, poking his head through the gap. "Hey, Squirt."

"Niichan!" Konohamaru came racing around the corner of his vision and assaulted his face, covering it with sloppy, wet kisses. "I missed you!"

"Ah, here we go," Naruto wrinkled his nose in mock disgust as he opened the door further and let himself in, being careful to keep his team from Konohamaru's view. "Let me breathe, you little leech."

"What happened to you?" Konohamaru asked as he got a full view of Naruto's clothes. "You look terrible."

"Thanks, kid." Naruto walked to his room, Konohamaru trailing behind. "The bastard was being a shithead, as he always is."

"I think you like him."

Naruto froze in the middle of pulling on a clean shirt. "No! Not you too!" He moaned.

"You always talk about him. It's like you're in love…only you hate him." Konohamaru thought for a second while Naruto grumbled about stupid rumours. "I like him. You'd go well together."

"We are absolutely not going there, Konohamaru."

Konohamaru snickered. "But I can FEEL the love emanating from your eyes, as your throat screams out in its throes of passion-"

"I knew this would happen!" Naruto yelled as he pounced on the maniacally laughing Konohamaru. "I knew I shouldn't have introduced you two! KAKASHI, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

* * *

**A/N: **Sloppy. I know. I KNOW. I'M SORRY ;-; But if you're absolutely starved for more of this story, then I'll just give it to you. If you just read it, and thought what I'm thinking, I'm sorry. Things'll get better the next chapter. I swear, although formatting might be a bit funny since I didn't include Kono-chan's birthday party here. Until next time! Sarge out.

And about the elevator thing: once I was in a hotel with my friend and we pressed both buttons. It ended up with the janitor having to be involved because the elevator got stuck. Good memories.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I'm back! This time, things are gonna be more professional. Hopefully. Ah, who am I kidding, I'm never professional.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Which is really sad. *hides Gaara in pocket*

**Chapter Four**

Naruto walked downstairs, newly dressed in a clean outfit while slinging the half fainted Konohamaru over his shoulder, whistling merrily. The poor boy had been scared to death when Naruto pushed him out the door, all eight other team members screaming a loud "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" in his face that had Konohamaru's eyes roll back in his head. He was happy, yes, though the birthday wishes had rendered him so surprised that Naruto swear he could hear the thumping of the boy's heart vibrate through the air as loud as a timpani.

"Kiba, permission to drive?" He asked, opening the doors to the quiet building and gesturing for the others to come through.

"You know the answer to that already, pretty boy." Obviously, Kiba was still pissed and shaken.

They filed back to their cars in the chilly night air, the noises of the city surrounding them and only adding to their happiness. It was strange how being together with all of your friends could make you so ridiculously happy. _No, actually, it's not,_ Naruto thought. _With these guys as my friends, it's no wonder I'm the happiest I've ever been in almost six years._

Kiba pointedly strode to the driver's side and opened the door forcefully enough that the others heard a loud creak come from the door handle. Kiba must have gone a bit mental, Naruto mused, as he immediately kneeled in front of the car, hurriedly apologizing and comforting the bulky metal thing.

"I think he's snapped," he whispered to the nearest person around him, which happened to be Chouji. Chouji laughed quietly in response.

"I think you're right, but you _do_ drive like a madman."

"I would have thought you guys were used to seeing people drive like that. You do live in the downtown parts."

Chouji glared at him halfheartedly. "The people who drive like that are called assholes who can't drive around here."

Naruto only chuckled and waved the indirect insult off. "That seems to be the general consensus."

When everyone was buckled in, Konohamaru seated in the back seat of Kiba's Porsche held upright by only the seatbelt, the row of cars revved to life.

Naruto was staring cautiously at Kiba, afraid that the man might go insane once more and try to eat him. Honestly, with that wild look and those sharp teeth, Naruto wouldn't put it past Kiba to do exactly that.

"You okay there, buddy?"

Kiba gripped the steering wheel tighter in response, his jaw muscles working as he stared straight ahead at the road. "Let's never mention that situation back there ever again."

"You are going to die alone," Naruto observed, still amused at the tall man's display of affection toward his car.

"Shut up, Uzumaki."

Naruto didn't respond to that, only grinning and turning to look at the city out the window. After a few days of living there, Naruto was getting used to the continuous rush of the place, and the roads and buildings didn't look as unfamiliar as they used to. He may have liked his old home better, but in all honesty, the friends he had met made it worth the stay.

"You think Sasuke's going to throw the plates of food at me again?" He asked, scowling at the memory of the incident that occurred earlier in the day.

"Probably." Kiba laughed a bit as Naruto growled at him. "But that would probably make the kiddo's day, seeing his daddy get in a food fight with his boss."

"I'm not his dad." Naruto crossed his arms, though his heart wasn't in his angry stance. "I just want him to be happy, though."

"Are you kidding me?" Kiba asked, his eyes still on the road, occasionally looking in the rearview mirror to make sure their coworkers still followed. "The kid adores you, man. Haven't you ever seen the way he looks at you?"

Naruto shook his head, grinning ruefully. "Nah, usually I'm too wrapped up in trying to beat him up."

"He looks at you like you're God's gift to the world, fuck. You can pretty much see the love in his eyes whenever he looks at you, and that's something you don't see very much, even in real father-son relationships. Speaking of which, why aren't his parents the ones caring for him?"

Naruto's eyes fell to his lap, where he intertwined his fingers, cracking the knuckles. "Plane crash," he coughed, his voice hoarse with tears that had remained unshed for three years since the incident.

Kiba was silent for a moment before he spoke, eyes searching out their destination. "Well, for what it's worth, I think the kid thinks of you as even more than just a parent now."

"Naruto's the best!" Konohamaru dazedly muttered from the back seat.

Kiba grinned his feral grin. "See?"

Naruto looked at the man, blue eyes brimming with thankfulness. "It's no wonder you're my best friend, Kibby. Thank you."

"Hey now," Kiba growled dangerously. "Drop the 'Kibby,' then that might have been acceptable." He turned carefully into the parking lot, followed by eight other cars with their headlights glaring into Kiba's car.

"Dogbreath, just accept the compliment. Or even return it, as a matter of fact."

"Foxface, I love you too." Kiba maneuvered the gearstick and parked the car.

"Awe, you're too sweet." Naruto opened the door and unbuckled his seatbelt, sliding out of his seat and walking around the streamlined car to get his nephew out.

"Come on now, kid," Naruto grunted as he lifted Konohamaru out and set him on the ground, before lifting him back up so he sat on Naruto's shoulder in their trademark position. "Wake up."

"Your team is evil." Konohamaru hunched over the top of Naruto's head, leaning over to glare Naruto in the eye.

"Aye, that's why I love 'em." Naruto grinned and tilted his head back to give the black haired boy a kiss on the forehead, making him recoil.

"Hmph, they almost killed me." He gave the team an evil look as they were joined at the base of a street light in the back of the large restaurant.

"Jesus, is this place always this full?" Shikamaru groaned.

"It was a real pain in the ass to find a place to park," Ino agreed.

"You guys want to head in or not?" Tenten groaned. "It's dark, it's cold, and I'm hungry."

"For once, I agree with her," Chouji added.

"Geez, patient much?" Naruto led the group to the front door of the restaurant, where a river of bodies was pouring in and out of the huge building.

"Uh, guys…." Kiba pointed with a shaking hand at the line that circled to the end of the sidewalk, "I think it's gonna be a while out here."

"Not to worry," a smooth voice interjected, while a hand appeared on Kiba's shoulder, making him whip around. "Sasuke and I have it covered."

"Jesus Christ, fuck!" Kiba held his hand over his heart. "Stop it! You know that scares the shit out of me!"

"Always a pleasure, my little minion," Itachi bared his teeth in a smile.

"How do you even do that? I swear, it has to be magic," Kiba grumbled as they were led through the sea of bodies by Itachi. "And one day, I'm going to learn how to do it, and the tables will turn."

"I doubt it."

Kiba yelled and jumped into the air, and he were a dog Naruto would bet that his ears were pulled back and his tail would be in between his legs. "Stop it! Both of you! You guys fucking suck!" He screamed at Sasuke, who had materialized next to him. "Fucking Uchihas!"

By now, the barricades Naruto and the team had put up broke all at once, and laughter spilled out from all of their mouths as they watched the miserable Kiba try to keep tabs on both the smirking CEOs.

As they filed into their seats in the large, rectangular table, even Konohamaru perked up as Naruto sat next to Itachi, giving off a small giggle and a timid wave. He beamed as Itachi waved back with a friendly, silly smile.

"You landed yourself with an adorable kid," he appraised Naruto. The blonde grinned even further at the praise for his nephew.

"Ah, he looks sweet, but he's really a monster inside. Ain'tcha, you little rascal?" He lifted Konohamaru off of his shoulders and into his lap.

In response, Konohamaru only elbowed Naruto hard in the stomach, making the blonde keep over as he gasped for breath.

Every single person laughed openly, even Sasuke, though that was probably only at Naruto's anguish.

"Goddamn kid," Naruto growled as his breathing steadied. "I'm going to kill you one day." But they all knew Naruto would never lay a finger on Konohamaru.

As they all settled in, talking amongst themselves, Itachi hailed a passing waiter before anyone could even open the menus and ordered four of everything on their list. Naruto protested at this and tried to correct Itachi and send the waiter away so they could order only what they needed, but Itachi only clamped a hand upon Naruto's mouth and continued with his large order.

As the waiter walked away, looking overwhelmed by the amount of food that was on his paper, Naruto ripped his face away from Itachi's hand.

"Itachi! How the hell are we going to finish _four of everything on the menu?" _Naruto whispered the last part, scandalized. Kiba, seated on Naruto's other side, shot up in alarm, looking at Itachi.

"Only four orders? Are you crazy?" Naruto looked at Kiba, then to Itachi, then Kiba again in confusion as the men talked across Naruto.

"I'm sure it will be enough."

"No it won't! Chouji can eat five orders all by himself!"

"We can always order more later," Itachi waved off the concerns and focused his attention to his lap, where Konohamaru had climbed onto.

Naruto stared in shock at the laughing Chouji, who sat across from him.

"There is no way one person could eat all of that by himself, man." Naruto whispered to Kiba.

"Chouji used to be a competitive eater," Kiba acclaimed proudly, making Chouji grin at him "One of the top competitive eaters in the world. He's still holding the world record for most ramen ever eaten in one sitting."

"I bet you I can eat more," Naruto boasted to the man.

Chouji only smiled wider, a challenging gleam coming to his eyes. "I'm holding you to that, Uzumaki."

"Man, why's everyone calling me by my last name?" Naruto complained, breaking eye contact. "It makes me feel like an underling servant or something."

"I doubt you would rank high enough for even that," Sasuke muttered under his breath. Unfortunately, Naruto still heard.

"Did you say something, bastard?" Naruto growled, narrowing his eyes.

"That's none of your concern, dobe." Sasuke narrowed his eyes as well, and the two of them began their routine matches of trying to shoot lasers out of their eyes at each other, neither of them backing down.

They were so caught up in their heated, unspoken challenges that they didn't even notice the conversation die down around them, the workers instead turning their interests upon the two whose eyes were starting to water because of their determination not to break eye contact.

"Betcha twenty that Naruto wins, 'Tachi." Kiba whispered lowly to the man.

"I'll take that bet," Itachi rumbled back.

Around the table, many were beginning to place their own bets, half on Naruto and half on Sasuke, silently rooting for one or the other.

The spell was broken, however, when an absolute mountain of food was placed on their table, the waitresses and waiters laden with food and sweating from exertion. Both Naruto and Sasuke had to back down, the plates blocking their view of each other. And thus, it was declared a tie.

As it turned out, Kiba was right. Chouji shoveled down massive plates of food all by himself, and as a result the mountain was crumbling fast. Plate after plate disappeared into Chouji's cavern of a mouth, and soon Konohamaru began imitating Chouji, stuffing his cheeks full of sushi like a little hamster.

"Whoa now," Naruto tried to caution him, "Easy there, Squirt."

But Konohamaru, being the rebellious little kid he was, only shook his head and continued eating until his stomach stretched to a large, visible bump underneath his coat.

And as it always went, as Naruto and the rest of the team finished up their meals, Konohamaru started whining loudly about how he would never eat sushi ever again.

And as always, Naruto would shoot Konohamaru a triumphant grin, saying "I told you to slow down," and much to the amusement of the people around them, they went rolling onto the ground, each mock fighting the other.

Life was good.

* * *

"Uuungh," Naruto groaned as he stretched, walking with his friends to the parking lot with his stomach comfortably filled. "Ready to go home, Squirt?"

Konohamaru smacked Naruto's head lightly from his usual perch on his shoulders. "Watch it, Niichan, you nearly punched me."

"Heh," Naruto chuckled, taking extra care to jostle the boy lightly when he shifted his shoulders from his stretch. "Sorry about that."

Konohamaru really wasn't looking too hot, Naruto decided. His face was a bit green and he was a bit more quiet and weak than he should have been on a normal day.

"Feeling alright?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"No, I just want to barf my brains out." And with that sentence, Naruto knew that Konohamaru was okay.

"Hey, Kiba, you taking us home?" he asked the man walking in long strides next to him.

"Hell yeah," Kiba teased with an additional suggestive wink.

"I may be bi, Kiba, but you're definitely not up to my standards."

"I'm so hurt!" Kiba cried, swooning over dramatically before righting himself again, catching up to Naruto. "But as a matter of curiosity, who is?"

"Hmm…" Naruto looked around, evaluating his coworkers one by one. "In this crowd…definitely Gaara," Naruto placed his elbow upon Gaara's shoulder, winking and smiling as the redhead looked up in annoyance.

"Get lost before you lose one of those pretty blue eyes."

"Awe, but you know you love me," he gave Gaara a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before ducking the two wild swings that came afterward.

"Definitely not Kakashi," he looked with mock distaste at the man who was listening rather obviously in on their conversation. Kakashi only gave him a two fingered salute before turning to Iruka next to him and giving the man a pointed kiss.

"Maybe Shika, if he just got rid of that pineapple on his head." Naruto ducked a Coke can whistling past his ear, laughing loudly while Shikamaru pointed his middle finger back at Naruto.

"Overall…Itachi, I guess." The man walking ahead of him didn't seem to hear, which Naruto was grateful for.

"Oh, and Sasuke."

Kiba, who had been listening absentmindedly the whole time, gasped and spluttered. "S-Sa-Sasuke?"

"What did I tell you?" Naruto looked over at Kiba, who was growing red in the face as he continued spluttering. "I'm not afraid to appreciate a good-looking guy."

"But, it's _Sasuke_!" Kiba exclaimed rather loudly. "You hate his guts!"

"Indeed I do," Naruto replied calmly. "I think he's attractive, but I would never, ever go out with him in a million years."

Kiba only turned away, mumbling something about "crazy gay guys," and veered off the sidewalk to his car, Naruto following him.

"So, now you're going to try to convince me you two aren't perfect together?" He asked as Naruto flung Konohamaru into the backseat and buckled in.

"Us, the perfect match? Not in this world."

Kiba only shook his head, turned on the ignition, and drove off into the night.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had been listening rather intently to Naruto's conversation, and had been as equally shocked as Kiba when he heard his name mentioned. Now, seated next to Itachi in their limousine, Sasuke was trying valiantly to convince himself that the butterflies swirling in his stomach were only results of their food…and not of something else.

* * *

Naruto groaned and banged his head on the metallic bronze walls of the elevator as he rode to the 67th floor, his dress clothes messy and his tie untied. He had been right in the sense that it would soon become a routine of getting up late, chasing and blaming Konohamaru, and calling on his adoptive father for a ride to work. And as a result of the morning's rushed routine, he was now tired as fuck.

He didn't even hear the door ding open while he was banging his head on the door, trying to keep awake. Neither did he notice that Sasuke was now standing in front of the door, amusement glinting in his eyes as he carried a file and a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Gonna get out anytime soon?" He asked the oblivious blonde.

Naruto only groaned and lifted his head, carding through his messier than usual blonde hair with slightly shaking fingers, and strode unsteadily out of the elevator, not even acknowledging Sasuke.

At this point, Sasuke was slightly concerned. Usually the blonde fired up immediately as soon as he caught sight of Sasuke. He stared at the blonde as he stumbled sleepily out of the confines of the elevator.

"Take this," Sasuke had no idea what had possessed him to do such a thing as he pushed the cup of coffee into Naruto's fumbling hands. "Can't have you asleep at the job," he excused himself and walked quickly into the elevator, punching the buttons as the door closed.

Naruto stared confusedly at the cup of coffee he now held, and then at the elevator doors. Shrugging it off, he took a sip of the coffee and headed to his usual place at the end of the floor furthest away from the elevator, at the long table where his coworkers sat.

"Did you steal Sasuke's coffee mug?" Sakura asked him, flipping her pink hair out of her face as she stared at the cup.

"How did you know this was Sasuke's?"

"It's the one Itachi gave him for his birthday, isn't it obvious? Though I don't know why Sasuke would continue using it," Sakura sighed, "I've given him a _much _better present before. He's so dreamy." Sakura trailed off, staring into the distance and thinking of her "true love" while Naruto eyed her curiously and turned the mug over in his fingers.

He immediately doubled over, laughing loudly, as the rest of his team looked over and shook their heads before returning back to their work, smiling faintly. On the side of the mug, there was a tiny chibi Sasuke, crossing his arms and glaring angrily up at Naruto while arcing over the top of his head were the words "My Little Princess" in curly font. Tears spilling out of his eyes, Naruto decided that Itachi was definitely the best boss he had ever had.

It was a while before Naruto calmed down enough to return to his seat, sipping at the lukewarm coffee. By now, he had no real need for coffee, however; laughing so long and so hard had forced oxygen into his blood, and he felt wide awake and as cheerful as ever.

As he immersed himself in his work, he faintly heard the elevator doors open across the room, and a moment later Sasuke swept by, wordlessly plucking his coffee from Naruto's fingers. Naruto looked up, surprised to see Sasuke there. An evil grin split his face.

"Nice mug you got there, Princess."

Tenten looked at him from her seat next to Naruto, scandalized and shocked. "Naruto!" she whispered fearfully. "You never, _ever_ insult Sasuke's mug! Either one, in fact!"

Sasuke had frozen, his turned figure calm, but the hand gripping the handle of the mug betrayed him, as its knuckles were white by the force. He turned slowly toward Naruto's evil cackles, but before he could do anything, the door to Itachi's office flung open as it almost always did, just in the nick of time.

"Boys!" Itachi cheerfully spread his arms wide, a red folder held in his right hand. "You're going to Tokyo!"

"What? Who? Why?" Everyone in the vicinity asked, the questions becoming jumbled as the clamor rose louder and louder.

"Well, actually, I picked Naruto and Sasuke." Said men dropped their jaws.

"And you'll be staying together in a hotel for a week, giving out presentations of our jobs and what it's like in this wonderful haven."

"But you've never done this before!" Sasuke protested loudly while Naruto was still yelling, "I'll die!"

"Always good to try new things, eh?" Itachi smiled. "Oh, and I just caught wind that the hotel I booked got my requests wrong; so now you two will have to share a room as well."

It was almost comical, the way the two spoke at the exact same time with the exact same words.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

**A/N: **Another chapter coming soon! I'll be spilling chapters fast as possible this Thanksgiving, as a thanks to YOU for your wonderful reviews! :D

Oh, and for those of you that may have gotten confused by Tenten's mug line, it was my attempt at a joke. You know, since mug can mean the cup or someone's face…yeah, I will never, ever apply to be a comedian when I grow up.

Also, in honor of this story, I've begun wearing a tie to school.

It's fucking awesome.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Yo! I'm back! I apologize for the delay between chapters. It's becoming limited, my time with just me, my yaoi, and my computer. Stupid school. Ah well, breaks are just around the chapter! And I realize this is the perfect time for some Sasunaru fluff to happen, but I would really prefer to take their relationship slower with this fanfiction, since mine tend to end with Sasuke and Naruto finally getting together rather than their relationship plus a developing plot. Maybe I'll try that next fanfiction I write. I dunno, I kind of like just writing about "The Chase" and not all about when they settle down with themselves. And with my rant over, let's finally begin the new chapter!

**Disclaimer**: Can I please at least have his old teddy bear?!

**Chapter Five**

"Please, please please!" Naruto crouched down in front of Gaara and Shikamaru, clasping his hands together in his begging. "Please, don't leave me alone with him, please! Come on, we've been friends since what, middle school?" Citizens looked down at him in annoyance for stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, while Sasuke simply stared the other way in annoyance, leaning on his suitcase.

"Elementary school," Gaara growled.

"That long! And you won't help me out just this once! I'm _begging _you, please! Just come with me, or you can replace me! Shika, you're good with stoic bastards-"

"Absolutely not." Shikamaru turned away, his voice flat.

"Come on! One favor, just this once!"

"Actually, what about those times you had me pay for your ramen?" Gaara asked.

"You never even paid us back." Shikamaru added.

"And that stack of favors you've owed me since middle school is just sitting there in your closet."

"What about the compensated birthday presents you've owed me? You owe me five, I believe."

"And what about that one time you decided to spray my walls with that orange spray paint? It's still on my wall, you know."

"And the one time you dyed my hair completely green-"

"Alright, alright!" Naruto interrupted their tirade crossly. "Just-I don't know, I swear I'll be forever grateful if you do this for me!"

"No!" They both shouted in unison.

Naruto turned to his other friend, who had been watching the exchange with a mildly amused expression. "Kiba-"

"After all those favors I heard you owed to them?" Kiba jerked his head in the direction of Shikamaru and Gaara's retreating backs. "Not likely, Blondie."

Naruto looked desperately to the others who had come to see them off. "Iruka, come on. I've been a good son, haven't I? 'Kashi, I've made a good impression.

"Actually, I still haven't quite forgiven you for the one time you stole my credit card and almost emptied my bank account ordering a life's supply of ramen," Iruka frowned at him, while Kakashi only uttered a "See you later, Sunshine."

Naruto looked at his last resort, one that he truly hoped he would not have to confront "Itachi…?"

Itachi only looked at him with a slightly maniacal, sadistic look in his eyes, making goosebumps rise on Naruto's arms. "I'd hate to see what condition you two are in when you come back."

Naruto hung head in defeat, and walked forlornly to the limousine, where Ino sat on the hood with a sobbing Konohamaru in her lap.

"No, Naruto, don't go! I'll be lonely!" He wailed, bursting into a fresh wave of tears as he saw Naruto approach.

Naruto felt a lump rise in his throat. He could never bear to see Konohamaru cry, and to be honest, though it was only a week long trip, Naruto would miss the little guy to death. "Sorry, Squirt. I'll be back soon, though, and Iruka will take good care of you!"

Konohamaru only muttered incoherently under his breath, shaking his head vehemently as he gasped for air between his wails.

Naruto looked back to check on Sasuke, and found the black haired man tapping his wrist angrily. "I'm sorry, Kono-chan. I have to go now. See you later, alright?"

Naruto walked away, leaving Ino to deal with the devastated Konohamaru after she said a quick goodbye to him. He walked miserably toward Sasuke, with Lee's shouts of, "WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOUR YOUTHFUL PRESENCE, NARUTO-KUN!" ringing in his ears. He grabbed his luggage and, gritting his teeth, spoke to Sasuke.

"Where to, teme?"

Sasuke pointed to a large, glass building a few meters away from where they stood. "Itachi's private jet."

"Oh, yeah, this was a great idea." Naruto raised his voice slightly in hopes that the wind would carry the sound of his voice to Itachi and the rest of his coworkers. "Trapped in an enclosed space,two thousand feet in the air, _for eight hours, _with the damn bastard."

Sasuke snorted next to him. "As if I want to be anywhere near you at all."

Naruto glared at him. "Touché."

* * *

Five hours. Five hours in the confines of the small private jet. Five hours trapped in a seat with Sasuke next to him. Five hours of endless arguing, with three more hours to go. Naruto sighed heavily, uncrossing and recrossing his legs while one foot tapped in annoyance in the heavy, oppressive silence. He cleared his throat, his voice sore from all the arguing he had done with the CEO in the span of five long hours.

Shifting, he finally snapped and spoke, not looking at Sasuke. He wasn't going to try to get acquainted with the bastard, something that would surely result in getting his head bitten off, but he wasn't going to try to start another fight again.

"Hey, teme."

"What is it?" Sasuke's voice was strained, tense. Naruto supposed it was for the same reasons of his discomfort.

"Tell me about youself."

At this, Sasuke uncrossed his arms, staring curiously at Naruto. "..What?"

"You heard me."

Sasuke stared a moment longer, then returned to staring out the window. "Why do you want to know, dobe?"

Naruto shrugged, even though he knew Sasuke wouldn't be able to see it. "Pass the time. Talk about something civilized instead of trying to rip each others' tongues out. The list goes on."

Sasuke was silent for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "What do you want to know?"

Naruto was getting irritated. "Aren't I supposed to be doing the questioning? Just tell me about your damn family."

"Hn. My father and mother created this company when they met," Sasuke explained, sounding bored. "They were initially merged with the Namikaze Company, but they branched off later and became a standalone enterprise. They say they never knew that their company would grow to be this dominant later," Sasuke scowled, looking past his reflection in the crystalline glass to the flurries of clouds zooming by, "but as they say, Uchihas always get what they want. As you can probably predict," at this point, Sasuke looked over, meeting Naruto's eyes while smirking his irrationally infuriating smirk, "or maybe not…"

"Think you can go for an entire sentence without throwing a knife at me, jackass?" Naruto growled crossly.

"…they made many rivals in their rise. Most of them have left us alone at this point, but the Hyuugas and the Sound have always made it a competition between us as for creating and designing the latest technology. They've even gone so low as to try to hack into our information codes and logs, but we've always held our own."

"Hang on," Naruto interrupted. "If I remember correctly, I asked to know more about _you_, not about your parents' company. In fact, Kiba gave me the whole fucking package of the history of your company on my first day. I think he was doing it on purpose, too. He was going on for over half an hour about it," Naruto grumbled.

"I'm getting there, dobe." Sasuke tried to cover it up, but he knew that he was only trying to avoid the subject of relaying too much information about his family. Never once had anyone asked to get to know him better, except for Naruto. "We're obviously still the leading industry. And _now," _Sasuke shot a pointed look at Naruto's curious face, "we get to the part about my older brother. My dad wanted Itachi to have sole responsibility over the company, but my mother convinced him to split it between Itachi and me, though now, we're more like partners rather than separate owners." Naruto noted at how Sasuke's fists clenched and his jaw worked at the mention of his father.

"After they gave us charge, they got in a plane crash." Sasuke's tone turned bitter at this point. "What a generic end for a 'brilliant' pair of people. And that's how it's been ever since. We lead the HQ, and keep tabs on our other offices around the world. Itachi never mentions our parents, and I never mention it to him." Sasuke made it very clear with his body language that that particular rule went for Naruto, too.

Naruto was silent for a minute when Sasuke was done. After a while, he spoke. "In the same boat, aren't we?"

Sasuke was nonplussed. "Hn?"

Naruto shot him an annoyed look. "I don't tell just everyone this, you know. Think you could manage more than just an animalistic grunt, ya damn teme?"

Oh, how easy Naruto made it. "Hn."

"Goddamnit, Sasuke." Sasuke smirked, watching out of the corner of his eye as Naruto slumped in his seat, crossing his arms and setting his feet farther apart. Sasuke had never heard Naruto say his name in such a calm manner, and he realized he rather liked the way it rolled off of Naruto's tongue like silk.

"Well, can you guess who my dad was?" Naruto asked.

"Iruka?" Sasuke took a wild stab in the dark, having never paid much attention to the blonde.

"That's my adoptive father, prick."

"Usuratonkachi, I didn't expect to get a pop quiz on your personal life either."

Naruto barked out a short laugh. "It was Minato Namikaze himself."

Sasuke felt as if he had been slapped in the face. It definitely wasn't the answer that he was expecting, but looking at Naruto, he realized that Naruto was almost an exact copy of Minato, save for the shorter blonde spikes, the scarred cheeks, and the unhealthy obsession with the color orange.

"My dad married the best woman in the world, they led a company that was pretty damn huge, and then they had me. And of course," Naruto's eyes darkened, "They were driving home one day, and the fucker in the truck didn't have his goddamn eyes on the road.

"Then I got landed with Iruka. He didn't have Kakashi back then, but I loved that scarface to death. I still do." At the mention of his adoptive father, Naruto lightened up back to the empty headed blonde he'd always been. "Iruka raised me, sent me to school, got me into university, and here I am now."

Sasuke thought for a moment. "Didn't you say you knew Tsunade and Jiraiya?"

Naruto grinned at that. "The old hag and the pervert? Of course I do, they helped Iruka raise me. I lived with them as well, and they're damn awesome. Although, the hag can be a bit scary at times…and the pervert is…well, perverted."

Sasuke looked amused. "How on earth did you ever get into college?"

"Hey!" Naruto's brow furrowed.

Sasuke only smirked. "Got any brothers or siblings?"

"Nope." Naruto straightened himself and leaned back, his hands interlocked around the back of his head. "I was a spoiled, possessive little brat. Though, if my siblings were anything like Itachi, I'd fucking kill to have one."

"Believe me." Sasuke's face was reduced to an emotionless mask. "You do not want anyone in your family like Itachi."

"Kakashi and Jiraiya are worse, I can guarantee that. And now Konohamaru's being corrupted by them," Naruto half complained. "As if the little rascal wasn't evil enough."

"Is he hard to handle?"

"Nah. He has his angelic moments. Most of the time, though, he's almost as good of a prankster as I was when I was little."

Sasuke grunted. "Can't even imagine the nightmare you would be as a kid."

"Hey, I'm trying to be friendly here. Who's the one laying low blows and being a bastard-jerk?"

* * *

Before they knew it, their plane was landing. The time had gone by in a blur, because they had actually enjoyed the first civilized talk amongst themselves to a degree. Ears popping, Naruto held on to his armrests as the plane was buffered by turbulence, and braced himself for the jolt that came with the landing.

"Wonder what Tokyo's like," Naruto mused as he and Sasuke stood to exit the private jet.

Sasuke was silent as they traipsed into another building owned by the Uchihas, cool air conditioning replacing the stuffy atmosphere of the jet. "Busy, and hot," he replied over his shoulder.

"Sounds pleasant," Naruto said absentmindedly as he wheeled his luggage towards the exit, opening the doors, where a blast of the Tokyo wind hit his face, ruffling his hair.

Naruto froze. "Oh no," he moaned, "this place is fucking hot and humid and shit!"

Sasuke looked back, exasperation evident on his face. "What did you expect of Tokyo, dobe?"

"I don't know! But I don't do humid!" Naruto could already feel sweat accumulating on his forehead. "Lemme go back in!"

Before Naruto could drag himself back in the building, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and tugged him back, making Naruto stumble. "Come on, don't whine. We'll get to the hotel soon."

"No! I need AC! I need AC!" Naruto shouted, drawing the confused stares of many of the citizens out and about in the city filled with lights, the sky dark and inky.

"Dobe…" Sasuke gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to punch the blonde right in the nose. "Come on, the limousine should be right around the corner."

"Does it have air conditioning?" Naruto asked suspiciously, lessening his struggles from Sasuke's grasp.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yes."

And so it was that ten minutes later, Naruto and Sasuke were seated happily in the back seat of the sleek, black limousine, rushing along the busy streets towards their hotel.

* * *

Their happiness was short lived, however.

"WHAT?!" Naruto and Sasuke thundered, both wearing expressions of fury on their features.

"I-I'm sorry, sirs," the poor lady behind the counter apologized, a terrified look on her face. "The man who reserved the room specifically told us not to let you two have separate rooms."

"Did he at least give you a reason why?" Naruto demanded, leaning across the counter.

"No, sir. We never question our customers' wishes."

Naruto swore, making many other people milling about the hotel's main floor look over disapprovingly, while Sasuke's eyes were almost red with rage as he swiped the key card to their room from the girl, who looked about ready to pass out from the very angry men.

"Fucking Itachi," Naruto growled as he grabbed his luggage, violently tossing the suitcase over his shoulder, and walked toward Sasuke, who walked with Naruto around the ornate pool in the center of the floor and to the gold elevator doors set in granite on the far side.

"What the hell is his problem?" Naruto asked angrily as he slammed the button with his fist, making a very concerning sputtering noise come from the small mechanism. The gold doors in front of them opened almost immediately, and they stepped into the spacey elevator, Naruto punching the buttons to their correct floor in the same manner as he did with the button before.

It was just their luck that the elevator suddenly emitted a loud, harsh squealing noise of metal on metal on their way up. The elevator swayed slightly, and the lights flickered for a moment before the swaying stopped and they righted themselves, using the railings around the walls of the small space for support.

"Well, fuck. We land in Tokyo, Itachi's fucked us over, and now we're trapped in some horror movie sequence." Naruto uttered despairingly. "What now?"

Sasuke cursed and moved to the panel of buttons, pressing the alarm button a few times before hitting the 'call' button.

After he hit it, a cool female voice issued from a speaker located just above the panel. "Hello, is there an emergency currently at hand in the elevators?"

Sasuke spoke, his voice slightly echoing off of the metal walls. "Yes, our elevator has stopped on the way up and we're trapped together."

"Alright. Please stay calm and we'll send a technician to help get you out."

"Yo, make it fast, would ya, sweetheart?" Naruto pitched in. "The Princess here can develop a pretty foul mood of he needs to embarrass himself with his poor social skills too long-"

Swiftly, Sasuke moved in and punched Naruto in the gut, making the blonde double over, wheezing. A small laugh was heard from the speaker before it was cut off with a crackling noise.

"Teme! I'm still sore from when Konohamaru punched me!" Naruto yelled, his face contorted in pain and anger.

"Hn, keep your mouth shut next time and maybe we won't have to resort to such drastic measures," Sasuke commented offhandedly.

Naruto grumbled and put as much distance as he could between Sasuke and himself, backing into the corner of the elevator and leaning back against the wall. Resting his elbows on the rail, he looked around the elevator for anything to distract him from the pressing situation at hand.

The elevator was carpeted with a red and gold carpet patterned with leaves and vines. At the base of the metal walls, circling around the rectangular space and ending at the two portions of the wall that the elevator doors slid into when open, there was a small band of polished white stone that glittered when Naruto shifted in the light. The door was so polished and unmarked that he could see his reflection perfectly in it as though it was a mirror. The digital screen above it flickered between floor numbers, first 6, then 7, then 6, then 8. Around it, there was gold metal raised up in an elaborate design of leaves and spiraling designs. The button panel looked relatively similar to all of the others Naruto had seen, but it had much of the same raised gold patterns as around the digital screen. Naruto whistled. Although Itachi may have been an asshole about their rooms, Naruto was glad that Itachi at least had the grace to send them into what was clearly a five star hotel.

Naruto and Sasuke must have stood there for fifteen minutes wordlessly, trying to ignore each other. Both pulling out their cell phones, Naruto groaned when he saw that there was no signal in the elevator.

"You got any bars?" Naruto asked Sasuke, who shook his head no.

Naruto sighed loudly and resigned himself to even more standing about. Unconsciously, his eyes made their way to Sasuke's angular face and his muscular and yet lithe frame wrapped in his million-dollar-suit. The wall distorted nothing of Sasuke's handsome face, something that Naruto was grateful for as he examined it, noticing a myriad of things he hadn't noticed before about the man. With an angular, slender jaw that was clean shaven, thin lips, a perfect nose, and dark eyes framed with arched eyebrows, giving him an intense, concentrated look, it was no wonder that women fell swooning toward their knees whenever Sasuke approached. Naruto had admitted to Kiba that Sasuke was attractive based upon passive glances whenever they had met face to face, but Naruto could now say without a hint of doubt, Sasuke was probably one of the most attractive men Naruto had ever seen in his life. The proof was right there, in the form of the side view of Sasuke's face, as his head was currently turned to the side, reflected in the walls of the elevator.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was doing the exact same thing as Naruto was. While Naruto was immersed in some point on the wall in the elevator, Sasuke was staring straight at Naruto's face. There wasn't too much Sasuke could say about the blonde (he was an Uchiha, after all) except that Naruto was the definition of beautiful. Everything about him was contrasting; his blonde hair, tanned skin, and blue eyes, a lean and slender frame with a loud and immensely annoying voice, two sets of three scars on each cheek, stretching toward his jaw that had no extra baby fat whatsoever. He looked messy, in a casual way that only Naruto could pull off. His hair stood almost straight up in spikes, the hair ruffled and messy, his black dress shirt was untucked and crumpled, his tie was lopsided. He was everything that Sasuke was not.

_But no,_ the two both thought silently. _I hate him. I would never go out with someone like him._

* * *

It was a long, long while before Sasuke and Naruto were rescued. By this time, Naruto was yelling and kicking the door, while Sasuke stood, silently emitting waves of pure fury and indignation. The temperature in the elevator had increased at an astounding rate, and Naruto and Sasuke were both sweating bullets, gasping in the cool air as they stumbled out into to cooled air of the sixth floor of the hotel. Once the technicians and emergency staff made sure that the two had sustained no life threatening injuries, they left without a word back to their stations, leaving Sasuke and Naruto to complain loudly as they gathered their luggage and pushed the button (gently) to call up the other elevator.

"Jesus, that took them a long enough time," Naruto grumbled. "Are we going to be able to finally take a fucking break after this?"

Sasuke wearily checked his watch. "I doubt it. It's already almost one in the morning; our first presentation starts tomorrow at six AM sharp."

Naruto groaned for what seemed like the six hundredth time that evening. "You know where we're going?"

Sasuke reached into his jacket pocket and extracted a folded sheet of paper, which he gave to Naruto.

Naruto opened the sheet and scanned through it, his blue eyes roving over the paper. After a few seconds, Naruto returned it to Sasuke and covered his eyes with his arm.

"They're all college places," Naruto mumbled, becoming numb with exhaustion.

"Hn."

"Don't you understand how fucking annoying those hormonal college rebels are? They're all assholes and douchebags."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto. "Technically, you're a college student."

"Shut up."

After the long ride up to the twenty-seventh floor, Naruto and Sasuke spilled out, the elevator doors shutting with a deep sound of hollow metal clashing together.

"C'mon, c'mon, open the door," Naruto chastened, his words becoming slurred by his exhaustion.

Sasuke swiped the door with the key card, opening the heavy door wide and letting it fall back into place, only to be caught by Naruto, who entered right after into their dark room.

They stumbled in the dark to the bed, both collapsing onto it, not even bothering to change after the long day.

"Dobe, who said you get the bed?" Sasuke asked sleepily.

"Uuungh…" Naruto whined. "Sleep now, decide tomorrow."

And with that settled, the two climbed under the covers and found sound asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

**A/N: **Oh god, it's midnight and my hand is really, REALLY sore from writing this. Dammit, tomorrow isn't going to be a good day for endless typing. On the other hand, though, I was lying in bed the other night and I was suddenly struck by inspiration for another story! It's gonna be way different, though, so I'm gonna wait till this baby is done before I abuse my hands with another round of weaving stories together. Stay tuned for the next chapter (tomorrow, hopefully)! Sarge out!

By the way, I mean no offense to college students. Honestly, I quite like them. You'll meet the occasional asshat, but most are smart, fun, and funny, in my opinion!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Happy Thanksgiving, troops! And as a lovely Thanksgiving morning turns out, my internet is down, and it's pouring rain. Oh well. On the other hand, that gives me time to start writing the next chapter of our story! So here it is!

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. Sadly.

**Chapter Six**

"Come on, Sasuke, cut me some slack! Can't I just wear regular clothes for once?"

"We have to look professional," Sasuke replied, struggling with his tie, his back to Naruto. "Get up, we're going to be late."

Naruto sighed from his position, sprawled on the bed while his eyes roved over the ceiling. Slowly, he sat up and tumbled off the bed.

"OW! Damn, they didn't need to put _silk_ sheets on the fucking bed!" Naruto stood, rubbing his tailbone while his other hand fixed the black shirt that had become twisted around his figure while he slept. "So, I take it I can't wear jeans and a t-shirt?"

"Nope," Sasuke replied, still trying to knot his tie.

Naruto crossed the room to Sasuke, taking the tie and deftly knotting it together. "You know, the college kids won't care if we show up naked."

"That may be, but I refuse to go that low."

"Pretentious bastard," Naruto mumbled as he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it to the floor, unzipping his suitcase in search of another one. "Let's just go to a university wearing funeral attire, then."

Sasuke tried to keep his eyes from roaming up and down Naruto's muscled torso, but he'd lost that mental struggle by a landslide. He watched disappointedly as Naruto pulled on an identical shirt to the one he had worn yesterday, hiding his body from Sasuke.

"Can I lose the tie?" Naruto asked, leaving about a quarter of the buttons unbuttoned.

"Fine." Sasuke scowled at the teasing show of flesh and turned away, while Naruto grinned in triumph.

When they stood fully dressed, Naruto making every attempt to make his dress look less formal, they headed out of the hotel room and closed the door behind them.

"Wanna go for the stairs? I'd hate to risk another elevator incident like yesterday again," Naruto looked at the gold doors of the elevator with distaste.

"Too slow. We're running late, anyway." Sasuke pushed the button, the doors sliding open and closing after Naruto and Sasuke entered the elevator.

In the elevator, there was a silence as they rode down. By now, Naruto decided, he could remember too much about the elevator's interior that could be considered healthy, as a result of his wandering eyes last night.

"You think the other elevator's still broken down?" He asked, jerking his head to the left wall as an indication of where the elevator used to be.

"Hn." Sasuke yawned.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man. "Someday I'm gonna hook up one of those translator-shenanigans to your throat, seeing as I can't understand your linguistic system of grunts."

"Hn."

"Is there even any point in trying to talk to you?"

"No, because with your brains, we'd never get anywhere."

"I don't even understand why I bother," Naruto complained, hunching his shoulders as he exited the elevator. "Damn, this place is huge," he commented as he got his first real look at the hotel's lobby.

Everything was made of marble and gold, with a large fountain and a statue in the middle filled with pennies and loose change. It was impeccably pristine, with all surfaces gleaming. The windows must have been at least ten feet tall, looking out to the busy street beyond the entrance. A grand piano sat to the side, along with a fish tank full of _koi, _and cushioned benches lining the walls.

Sasuke looked around, unimpressed. "It's unnecessary for only a week overseas."

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto asked, the lights from the huge crystal chandelier dangling above him reflecting in his eyes as he turned toward Sasuke. "It's awesome in here!"

"Hn." Sasuke only grabbed his briefcase and strode to the glass front doors, Naruto trailing in his wake, to where the long, black limousine was parked waiting for them.

"Think the school'll be full of inconsiderate, loud pricks?" Naruto asked when Sasuke and Naruto were seated in the red velvet coated interior, the low, rumbling purr of the engine starting when the car started to move.

"Probably, if they're anything like you."

Naruto threw his hands dramatically in the air and turned away from Sasuke. "I give up!"

Sasuke only smirked behind the blonde's back.

* * *

"Tokyo Institute of Technology, huh?" Naruto asked as they stepped out of the car, ducking to prevent his head for banging against the car's roof. Of course, he still did, as he stood up, rubbing his head as he looked at the large building.

"We should be heading to the lecture hall," Sasuke said, starting down the long road lined with trees.

"Not exactly the biggest, fanciest school I've ever seen," Naruto said thoughtfully, heading after Sasuke.

Sasuke looked back at Naruto. "Since when do the looks of the school matter, as long as it's a good school? It's one of the top technology institutes in the world; no one seems to care too much about how the exterior looks."

"Hey, hey, hey," Naruto held up his hands. "I got spoiled by UW. Best fucking school I could have asked for, and it's pretty too. All lined with cherry blossoms…" he trailed off, looking slightly wistful.

"Why didn't you stay for longer?"

Naruto shrugged. "There was no point. I'd learned everything I needed to, knew what I wanted to major in. I didn't have too many friends, either." Naruto paused. "But I still got to see why so many people say college was the best times of their life."

"Hn."

Naruto made a face at Sasuke's back. "Why don't you lead the conversation for once? Ask me a couple questions like I always interrogate you."

"So answer me: why are you so loud and annoying?" Sasuke half smiled. It was a childish jibe, but one that would get to Naruto anyhow.

"Teme! Why don't you tell me why you're such a bastard!" Naruto crossed his arms and sulked, staring up at the cloudy sky, the shivering branches of the trees, the rapidly approaching building ahead, anything to keep him from even having to look at the bastard in front of him.

The school looked rather desolate on the gray, gloomy day. There were no students out on the grass in front of the building, and the gray cement the building was made of gave the place a haunting feel. Naruto shivered at the building looming up at him and picked up his pace, catching up to Sasuke so they were walking side by side.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows questioningly at Naruto's stiff form. "Something the matter, dobe?"

"Nah, this place just gives me the creeps," Naruto replied shortly and yanked open the door, pushing it open wider as he entered the building so Sasuke could slip in without being crushed by the door.

"Never knew you were afraid of abandoned buildings," Sasuke teased, almost reading Naruto's mind.

Naruto, on the other hand, was staring at the place in shock. "Abandoned, my ass! This place is fucking filled with the fuckers!" Naruto yelped as he dodged out of the way of some rowdy boys running past the pair.

"Welcome to Tokyo, usuratonkachi." Sasuke watched with amusement glittering in his eyes as Naruto valiantly dodged and sidestepped every single student in the Institute that walked by, as if running from the plague itself.

"This place brings back bad memories," Naruto shuddered as he danced his way back to Sasuke on his tiptoes, the students passing giving them casual glances while they spoke in rapid Japanese. Some even did double takes as they passed Sasuke, the guys staring jealously at the perfect man while the girls gazed starry-eyed at his beauty.

"Heh, is this how you get greeted every day out on the streets?" Naruto snickered while Sasuke looked intensely annoyed and uncomfortable.

Sasuke didn't give Naruto the courtesy of a reply, only turning his distasteful glare at a girl who was approaching him coyly, her book brought up as if to hide a blush, staring at Sasuke with hooded eyes. Naruto gagged violently and visibly at the sight of the wannabe perfect anime girl.

"Sasuke-kun," she whimpered, her brown hair dancing around her face as she swayed her hips. Naruto was suddenly reminded of Sakura and Ino, who always simpered around Sasuke, and Naruto had to bite back a laugh instead. The laugh soon turned to more vomit as the girl practically threw herself against Sasuke, wrapping her leg around Sasuke's waist.

Sasuke raised his voice sharply at the girl in perfect Japanese, shaking her off with disgust. The girl's eyes filled with tears and she hurried off, though Naruto didn't feel at all sorry for some reason.

"That was harsh," he told Sasuke, grinning as they set off once more through the parting crowd toward their destination.

"I'm sorry that I don't appreciate random girls running up and grinding on me like depraved dogs," Sasuke replied, disgust still evident in his words.

"Geez, Sasuke." Naruto put his hands behind his head, walking with his elbows up in the air while still wearing the same silly grin on his face. "How did you ever get a girlfriend when you were a teenager?"

"I didn't."

"Ah, I always suspected you were asexual," Naruto joked, nudging Sasuke in the shoulder with his elbow.

Sasuke looked at him with annoyance. "I'm gay."

Naruto stumbled in surprise, his eyes widening. "Holy shit, that was _not_ the answer I was expecting! You actually _have_ a sexual preference?"

"Don't count yourself within that category, dobe."

Naruto thought for a moment, deciphering Sasuke's cryptic words. And then it hit him. The grin was replaced by an expression of utmost horror, the change so quick that Sasuke was hit by a sudden urge to laugh. "Ew! Oh, god, ew! _Me, _doing that with-oh, I think I'm good, thank you very much!" He shot at Sasuke angrily, his face slightly flushed.

"As am I, dobe." Sasuke coughed to keep the unfamiliar feeling of laughter contained in his chest, frowning as he did so. This had never happened to him before.

"Ugh!" Naruto continued to clutch at his throat and gag pathetically as he stumbled after Sasuke, who was still frowning with a confused expression on his face as he held a hand to his mouth.

When they entered the huge lecture hall, it was filled with chatting students and teachers. The ambiance was full of excitement, contrary to Sasuke's indifference and Naruto's horror at having so many "teenage-monsters" as he called them in one place.

The room had fallen silent save for a few rebels when Naruto had flung open the double doors with both hands violently at once, sauntering through as though he was a celebrity. Sasuke strode through, his footsteps echoing in the newly fallen silence as the students gazed at the well known CEO in rapture.

Sasuke set his briefcase on the table provided for them, Naruto at his side trying to be helpful. The document camera shining into their eyes, they set up the laptop without much difficulty (save for Naruto's hindrances), and began the presentation.

* * *

It had started with background information on the company, almost word for word of what Naruto could remember of Kiba's welcome speech. Then it had descended into how the business had skyrocketed until it became an international corporation, then a slightly more personal story of Sasuke's parents, which had most of the enthralled girls in tears at the 'tragedy.' Finally, it concluded with an insight on how the headquarters worked, and Sasuke's last sentence the whole room burst into loud applause and a couple of obnoxiously loud screams and cheers. To be honest, Naruto had zoned out after the first three sentences and had fallen into a doze by the end of the history section. It was quite boring, but the audience seemed to have loved it.

"Any questions?" Naruto called out over the applause, clearing his voice from its sleepy state.

"Sasuke, will you marry me?" "Sasuke, will you go out with me?" "Sasuke, don't listen to them! Go out with _me!"_

He stood corrected. Evidently, Sasuke was the main attraction. In the midst of the girls screaming out at Sasuke, Naruto began to feel a peculiar feeling begin to blossom in the pit of his stomach. As it grew, and the fangirls picked up their pleas for Sasuke's affections, Naruto began to realize what the feeling was. He'd felt it too many times before in the past.

Jealousy.

But not because of Sasuke, not because he was the center of attention. Naruto knew that, being bisexual himself, if he were in that crowd he would never have even looked away from Sasuke's attractive features. No, this was jealousy for another reason. With a jolt, Naruto realized he was jealous _because_ of the fangirls. While they pined and begged for Sasuke, Naruto wanted nothing more than to hide Sasuke away from their sights, so only Naruto could see what belonged to him.

Naruto frowned, then shook his head. What? No…Sasuke didn't belong to him, and moreover, he wasn't jealous. It had to be another source; it just couldn't be any of those reasons.

However much Naruto told himself differently, he couldn't hide how his feelings had an effect on his actions. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm while Sasuke was putting away the laptop and closing the briefcase, the man's eyes widening in shock at Naruto's strange behavior. The crowd screamed in protest as Naruto led Sasuke quickly out of the lecture halls and back into the less-crowded parts of the building, his blue eyes set straight on a course to the exit.

"Dobe, what was that back there?" Sasuke hissed, pulling his arm back from Naruto's grip.

Naruto kept silent while he tried to come up with a response. "I didn't like the way they were calling out toward you."

"I thought you'd have been amused," Sasuke commented curiously.

"…let's just go before they try to kill me in their hopes of reaching you." Naruto lowered his gaze and strode toward the door, his hands clenched in fists at his side.

"You know that I'd never let them influence me, right?" Sasuke asked, an amused glint in his eyes.

"…I know."

Sasuke smirked, flurries of a strange, unfamiliar feeling rushing through his stomach at the blonde's behavior. As a result of constantly living in Itachi's shadow, Sasuke could spot Naruto's jealousy with a trained eye. The knowledge made him…almost happy.

* * *

"Ramen." Naruto stood resolutely at the door to their hotel room. "I demand ramen."

Sasuke sighed, glancing at the clock set on their bedside table. Almost 6:30 PM. "Don't you have that unhealthy garbage every day?" he asked, recalling information he had overheard Shikamaru relaying to Kiba.

"Don't you know _anything_ about Japan? Ramen stands, yo!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his arms wide. "Never had _real_ ramen before! It's all that instant crap!"

Sasuke looked doubtfully at the blonde's hopeful, pleading face. "I doubt it's any better than instant ramen."

At this point, Naruto practically exploded. "What are you talking about?!" he squealed, almost jumping up and down comically in his indignation. "That's like asking, is there a difference between fresh and dried fish? Of course there is, it _tastes better!_ Let's go!" He marched out to the elevator, slinging his coat on his shoulder while Sasuke decided to humour the blonde just this once and give in.

"Fine." The elevator descended, making their stomachs drop slightly.

And just like that, Naruto's sour expression turned into a ridiculously happy one. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" he grinned.

Sasuke tried to ignore the butterflies invading his gut at those words. "No, and I should hope that you never do," he replied, averting his eyes.

Naruto paid no mind to this and happily walked out of the elevator after waiting a few seconds for the door to open.

"Let's just walk," he suggested to Sasuke as they weaved around the people in the lobby and exited the hotel. "There's sure to be one around here."

Sasuke only shrugged and followed behind Naruto while put on his coat while heading towards the restaurants lined up around the block.

"Which way now, teme?" Naruto asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"This way," Sasuke walked uphill to the location he had in mind, Naruto bouncing along next to him.

Ichiraku's. The most widely known ramen shop in the world, according to Wikipedia. Naruto practically screamed in delight and ran in, the childish display earning him a few laughs and shakes of heads.

Naruto pulled Sasuke over to the tables, grabbing the menu and reading it, flipping pages fast enough to rip the paper.

Before Sasuke had even seated himself across from the blonde, Naruto had hailed a waitress, speaking excitedly to her in well-practiced Japanese.

"We'll both have the Specials tonight," he proclaimed, pointing to himself and Sasuke. The girl smiled and scribbled their order down, wishing them a good night and leaving.

Sasuke stared at Naruto. "Where'd you learn to speak Japanese like that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Iruka, the hag, and the pervert, I guess. They always spoke in Japanese when I was little, and I guess I just picked up on it.

Sasuke nodded absentmindedly, picking up a spoon and fingering along its edges while occasionally glancing up at Naruto, who had his face buried in the menu, almost drooling in ecstasy.

"What's that around your neck?" Sasuke asked before he could stop himself.

"Hm?" Naruto looked up from the menu at the sudden question. "This?" he asked, pulling on the black cord so that the blue stone was revealed from under his shirt.

"Hn," Sasuke replied, looking at the stone as the light glinted off of it.

"A little present from Aunt Tsunade," Naruto laughed, rolling the long, almost cylindrical stone between his fingers. "Belonged to my mother at first," he elaborated, sadness flitting across his face. "Worn it ever since the…incident happened." He let the necklace drop from between his fingers so that it dangled in front of his chest. Sasuke noticed that the blue stone brought out the color of his eyes, the combination of the blue hues and the shades of gold in his hair reminding him suddenly of the beach.

"It's beautiful," Sasuke stated quietly, though he was talking more about Naruto than the stone.

Naruto looked up in confusion, then horror. "Um, are you feeling okay?"

"What?" Sasuke could have strangled the blonde for his stupidity. Scratch the 'beautiful' line.

"There are a lot of things that Uchiha Sasuke does," Naruto was still looking at Sasuke weirdly through narrowed eyes, "But the one thing he does _not_ do is compliment other people."

Sasuke would have retorted, but just then another waitress placed two steaming bowls of ramen in front of the pair. Naruto already had his cheeks stuffed full of ramen, reminding Sasuke vividly of Konohamaru on his birthday as Naruto moaned in his state of euphoria.

"Mmmmm…."

* * *

Sasuke was shocked to find that, when he looked up from taking his first bite of the noodles, that Naruto had already eaten three bowls of the stuff.

* * *

"NARUTO!"

Naruto ran from the restaurant, bursting through the doors and holding his head protectively while he wailed, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Within two seconds, Sasuke had also burst through the doors and chased Naruto across the street.

"YOU ARE _SO_ PAYING ME BACK FOR ALL THAT RAMEN YOU ATE, DOBE!"

"It was only fourteen bowls!"

"ONLY?!"

**A/N: **I know, kind of an abrupt ending. But I am so, SO psyched for the Steam autumn sale! Been waiting for it for months, and I got about 10 games today, and I already have about 5 hours of Bioshock Infinite on my records! I love it :3

Also, once I slept on a bed with silk sheets. Woke up about four times on the ground, cuz goddamn silk is slippery.

My old Japanese teacher referred to me as a teenage monster when I turned thirteen. Good memories.

UW rocks. Still got my brother's old "U-Dub" t-shirt. Wearing it right now, in fact. Yeah Huskies! :33

Damn, 10 minutes till tomorrow. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Sarge out!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **I think the real reason I always end up writing is because my internet never fails to crash on me, leaving me with no choice but to write. Plus my alter-ego pointing an RPG at my face whenever I say I'm going to take a break. *crashing* HEY, PUT THE GUN DOWN!

**Disclaimer: **I own everything.

**Warnings: **Thumbs up for a cliché shower scene? ;D

Oh, and also, for those of you who are wondering… There's a very special person who's going to make an appearance at the end of this chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Seven**

The doors to the large building flew open, Uchiha Sasuke running out with his briefcase haphazardly unbuckled on one side, while behind him streaked Uzumaki Naruto, who bore bruises and scratches on his face while he heroically fended off wild, pouncing fangirls.

"Run, Sasuke!" He shouted, veering to the side once he was out of the building and grabbing one of the two heavy double doors, flinging it shut before running off to close the other one.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop some of the starry-eyed girls from slipping through the closing gap and running straight after Sasuke, not even acknowledging Naruto. Naruto could only watch helplessly, pressing himself against the two doors against the hoard of fangirls struggling to push open the doors and chase after the CEO.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was fluently cursing the fangirls, cursing his existence, cursing Itachi. With ten or so starving, desperate monsters on his tail, he had no idea what to do, nor where to go. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw with growing dread that Naruto, still trying to hold the doors closed, could not help him lest he risk the rest of the fangirls out.

"Dammit!" he swore, twisting and turning wildly and leaping over the sidewalk and into the shrubbery and trees that lay behind. He struggled with his jacket, the garment almost being torn off (with the rest of his clothes) back when he was suddenly jumped in the halls of the school. Why did these things always happen to him?

"Fuck," Sasuke growled to himself as he ducked behind the long, sweeping branches of a small tree. Kneeling there, he prayed to whoever was listening that the rabid fangirls wouldn't sniff him out. They must have had genetically engineered noses specially made to detect Sasuke-cologne-scent, because they could track him down from a mile away.

_Please, please, please…_Sasuke begged, bowing his head. After a long while, when his legs were starting to lose all feeling they had, the scurries of the fangirls faded away only to be replaced by another pair of slow footsteps. Sasuke cursed, quieting his breathing and hoping he wouldn't rustle any fallen leaves.

"Sasuke?" Naruto's voice called out.

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief, the hot air rushing out in a cloud of steam. "I'm here," he replied, as he slowly rose, grimacing in pain as he stretched out his legs.

Naruto's footsteps grew closer, and then he shifted the branches concealing Sasuke, his face lit up in a grin despite his weary, manhandled appearance.

"Sucks to be you, doesn't it?" he chuckled.

"You don't know the half of it," Sasuke replied grimly.

Naruto waited until Sasuke had brushed himself off and was fit to walk. "I'm so tired of this shit," he complained loudly.

"At least you're not the one experiencing attempted rape at every turn."

"Yeah, well, look at who's getting all scratched up on the other end of the situation. Everywhere we turn, there's some stupid, desperate schoolgirl dying to get into your pants. And I'm the one who holds them back while you go running off," Naruto argued. "Can't you call Itachi up, get us out of this situation?"

"You seem to be handling it well enough, even after five days," Sasuke eyed Naruto.

"Keh! I'm a man, that's why!" Naruto winked saucily at Sasuke, who rolled his eyes at the blonde's antics.

"Seriously, though," Naruto continued. "It's a damn waste of time, for us and the school, if everyone's just smitten on you." The words held a bitter note.

"That's true." Sasuke thought for a minute. "…I'll try tonight."

"Calling Itachi?"

"Yeah."

And just like that, the smile was back on Naruto's face. Sasuke shook his head at how easily pleased the blonde was.

"So…" The blonde leaned in towards Sasuke, nudging his shoulder against Naruto's. The action made Sasuke blush slightly. "Do I get ramen as well?" The sugar coated words registered faintly in Sasuke's brain before he came to his senses.

"Ramen?!"

Naruto nodded pleadingly.

"Hell no, dobe!"

"Aw, come on! One bowl!"

"NO!"

* * *

Naruto spun in the chair, staring at Sasuke's laptop screen, waiting for an email notification to pop up. So far? Nada. Naruto was getting really, really bored.

Naruto sighed. Sasuke was in the shower, Itachi was taking his sweet ass time replying to their cries of help, and he had nothing to do in the hotel room and no one to annoy. He _almost_ wished he could rope in Sasuke's beastly fangirls one more time, just as a source of entertainment, but he quickly banished the thought, succumbing to his boredom.

Just as Naruto was beginning to contemplate jumping off the balcony and testing to see if he could fly, a notification popped up on the laptop, making Naruto scramble to click on it and eagerly read the email. What he read made his heart sink like a stone.

"No? NO?! What the hell does he mean, no?! He didn't even give us a fucking explanation, the fucking bastard!" Naruto whirled around in fury as the bathroom door opened, Sasuke stepping out. "Two letters, that's all he fucking gives us! I-" Naruto stared in shock at Sasuke, who had frozen while rubbing a towel in his hair, completely naked except for a second towel wrapped low around his waist.

Naruto's eyes refused to move, instead zeroing in on the faint trail of short black hair starting from Sasuke's navel and going down and, Naruto gulped, under his towel.

_Fuck,_ Naruto cursed, spinning his chair around and ripping his eyes away from the tantalizing sight. "Uh…carry on." With that, the blonde quickly buried himself into typing a reply to Itachi, trying to force down the blush spreading across his face.

Unfortunately for him, Sasuke could clearly see the pink traveling at an alarming rate from Naruto's ears and down his neck. Smirking a little to himself, Sasuke grabbed some jeans and a t-shirt, putting them on along with a pair of boxers.

While Naruto was concentrating on writing a very long, very profane email back to Itachi, this time demanding that Itachi take them back home, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth, he didn't notice Sasuke sidle up behind him.

"Very eloquent, dobe."

"YAH!" Naruto turned, and upon seeing Sasuke's face looking over his shoulder, _way_ too close for comfort, quickly stumbled out of his seat and onto the floor, falling back on his already bruised tailbone. "Don't fucking _do _that!" he yelled.

Sasuke only coughed, masking his barely concealed laughter with his usual smirk.

"Now I see why Kiba hates you two so much," Naruto grumbled. "You are _definitely_ paying for my ramen tonight." Muttering something under his breath about 'wraithlike, annoying asses,' Naruto sat back down into his chair…only to find that Sasuke was already sitting there.

"Fucking teme!" Naruto yelled, jumping up from Sasuke's lap and hitting his thigh on the edge of the table, hopping up and down in a pain-crazed dance. "Will you stop, already? What's wrong with you today?!"

This time, seeing Naruto jumping up and down and skipping around him like a child, Sasuke couldn't hold back a chuckle. Hearing this, Naruto assumed it was sadistic enjoyment at his pain, and he scowled at Sasuke, stopping his dance.

"Alright, you get out." Naruto marched over and took a hold of Sasuke's arm, yanking him out of the seat forcefully.

Evidently, his yank was a tad bit _too_ forceful, as Sasuke came stumbling out of the seat, only to find Naruto crashing into his chest, the shorter blonde looking up in dazed confusion.

"You're clingy today, aren't you?" Sasuke smirked as Naruto stepped back.

"Oi, shut it, ya damn teme," Naruto retorted in indignation, pushing around the raven and plopping back down in the seat. "All I wanted was some time to fix things up with Itachi and get us out of here." He stared evilly at Sasuke through the corner of his narrowed blue eyes. "I don't like this new side of you."

Sasuke in turn murmured something in reply, something that sounded suspiciously like, "Better get used to it."

Naruto only scoffed and began typing once again, fingers flying over the keyboard, deleting and restarting draft over draft. Eventually, he deemed it perfect and clicked send, lounging back in his seat as he waited for the reply that would inevitably come with it.

* * *

To: The Uchiha Bastard #2

From: Disgruntled Worker

Subject: Home

Itachi,

Fuck you.

Take us back.

Or else next time I swear I'll throw Sasuke to the dogs and let them have their way with him.

I'm telling you now, take us the fuck back.

Thank you, and have a good day.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke sat in silence, Sasuke reclining on the bed and Naruto on the chair. In a few minutes, the notification sound of the laptop rang through the silence again.

Naruto smirked as he read the reply. "Heh, at least the bastard has some common sense."

"What did he say?" Sasuke asked, not once looking away from the ceiling.

"Taking us back tonight." Naruto snickered. "I knew he'd crack sooner or later."

"Che, that usually means he's found something even worse to do with us."

"He's found something even worse to do with _you. _ Make him partner you up with Kiba instead. Or Gaara, you two are a match made in heaven. Stoic, silent, killers, wraithlike, sneaky, plotting…" Naruto shuddered. "Once Gaara tricked me into thinking a whorehouse was a ramen place, and then-"

"That's all very nice, but I think the worst Itachi could ever do to me is pair me up with you."

Naruto bristled. "Yeah, well, you try going on a trip with, say, Lee." He laughed as Sasuke's eyes widened, his face going even paler than it usually was.

"Dobe, let's not talk about that."

"And you'll have to wear those green suits, put up with his youthful speeches every morning…"

"Naruto," Sasuke warned, his voice darkening.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop." Naruto did indeed stop, though the triumphant smirk never left his face. "We should probably get going to your private jet in an hour or so. Itachi says there'll be a limousine waiting for us out front." He turned to Sasuke, his eyes widening upon seeing the man. "Dude, you actually _own_ normal clothes?!"

Sasuke looked at Naruto, his face unimpressed. "Do _you_ own any normal clothes?"

"The fuck are you talking about?!" Naruto's eyes were still wide in shock. "I'm the one who's normal here, you're the man of a thousand suits."

"Let me rephrase: Do you own any clothes that aren't orange?"

"Of course I do, but that doesn't mean I wear them. Orange is the best color out of all of them."

"As well as the most obnoxious."

"I can never win with you, can I?"

"Nope."

Naruto sighed. "Well, fuck, this isn't going to be a fun ride."

* * *

Twelve hours later, Naruto and Sasuke were sitting in the back of yet another limousine. The jet flight was actually not that bad, mainly because Naruto and Sasuke slept for the whole ride. Determined not to become jetlagged, the two forced themselves to go to sleep early so as to catch up with the time schedules of their home city.

Naruto yawned, blinking as the sun shone through the tinted, dark windows of the car. "Why the hell does Itachi own so many limousines?"

Sasuke shrugged. "My parents liked to squander their money, even though they only got more and more as time went on."

"Think they missed us?" Naruto asked, staring out the window as the buildings and streets gradually became more and more familiar, until they were finally back in downtown.

"They most certainly did not miss you, dobe."

"Teme, _you're_ the one who gives the building its own personal rain cloud."

"And _you're_ the one who keeps shining into everyone's eyes, blinding them by your outstanding ridiculousness."

"You know what, I take back everything nice I've ever said about you," Naruto said in disgust, throwing his hands up as they got out of the limousine, which was parked in front of their workplace. "Though, that isn't saying a lot."

"Hn, there really isn't anything nice to say about you at all."

Naruto glared at Sasuke through slitted blue eyes. "You know, I think I miss those days where you just grunted whenever I said anything to you."

"Hn."

"Goddammit, teme."

As they entered the tall building, Ino looked up in amusement at the arguing pair. "Back already?" She asked, standing from her seat at the reception desk.

"Yeah, thanks to Sasuke being an absolute monster-magnet," Naruto scowled.

"Sasuke isn't a monster magnet," Ino said as they entered the elevator, while Naruto stood behind her, clasping his hands beside his cheek and mouthing Ino's words, staring up with hearts in his eyes.

Sasuke just had to laugh at that, while Ino and Naruto stared at him in shock as the man let loose some uncharacteristically loud chuckles.

"Is he alright?" Ino whispered in Naruto's ear, looking a bit concerned.

"I dunno, man," Naruto whispered back, staring fearfully as Sasuke's laughter died down and he began his usual death glare at the pair.

"Oh, shit, I think he's getting mad." Ino's eyes went wide.

"Ack!" Naruto rapidly pressed the button to open the elevator door as the elevator jolted to a halt at their floor, racing past Sasuke with Ino the second the doors parted.

"Save me, Gaara-kun!" He cried upon seeing the redhead slowly make his way to the elevator. Naruto jumped into his arms, wrapping his arms around Gaara's neck as Gaara staggered, choking on his water.

"Uzumaki…" the man growled in a deadly manner. "What the hell was that?"

"Eheheh…" Naruto unwrapped his arms, lowering himself to the floor. "Sorry about that, man." He patted the shorter man on the head, his chuckles dying down as Gaara continued staring at him through icy, seafoam eyes.

"Naruto!" a voice called down the hall.

Naruto perked up instantly, silently thanking whoever the voice came from for saving him from Gaara's wrath. "I'll catch you later, Gaara-bear!" he exclaimed, bending down to kiss the man on the cheek as he always did they were teenagers before racing off.

Ino stood beside Sasuke, staring at Gaara amusedly, curiosity visible in her eyes before she headed off after Naruto, wishing the redhead a good day as Gaara passed her and walked into the elevator.

Sasuke stood stock-still, jealousy continuously coursing through him as he replayed the events of Naruto kissing Gaara over and over in his head. His killer intent was only stopped by Kiba, who was yelling at him from across the room.

"Hey! Earth to Sasuke, Itachi wants to see you! Sasuke! OI, SASUKE!"

Sasuke shook his head to clear it, walking over to Kiba in long strides. Kiba stared at Sasuke curiously.

"Damn, something up? You're never usually like this."

Sasuke only shook his head, walking to Itachi's office, where Naruto stood waiting as Itachi's muffled voice sounded through the doors.

"Who's he got in there?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke, jealousy flaring up in him again at the sight of the blonde acting like nothing had happened between him and Gaara, only shrugged.

Naruto made to ask something else, but just then the door to the office flew open.

"Minions!" Itachi cried happily, sweeping the two up in a long, rib-cracking hug. "How was your trip?" Itachi looked at Sasuke. "You deflowered yet?" Then, to Naruto, "He didn't kill you, did he?"

Naruto laughed weakly, nursing his sore ribs with one hand. "Nope, and no."

Itachi patted them childishly on the head, Sasuke growing more and more irritated. "We've got a new worker here that I'd like you to meet!" he exclaimed, clearly happy about this piece of news. Naruto and Sasuke both grew slightly suspicious. Itachi was _way_ too happy.

"Here he is!" Itachi pushed a man out of his office, the man looking startled. He had short black hair, a pale complexion rivaling even Sasuke, and dark brown eyes.

"No fucking way." Sasuke turned to see Naruto staring at the man in wonder, his eyes shining with happiness. "Sai?!"

The man's face lit up, a smile crossing his face. "Naruto!" he exclaimed back, sweeping the boy up in a much gentler hug.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "If I may ask…who this is?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke, his face happier than Sasuke had ever seen it. "This is Sai!" Naruto proclaimed proudly, his arms tightening around the man's torso.

"And he's my ex-boyfriend!"

* * *

**A/N: **BOOM, cliffhanger! Muahahaha! Well…not really, since you can be sure that more is one the way soon. Or maybe I'll purposefully not update for a week or so….


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **So here I am, five minutes later after publishing Chapter Seven. Really, Sarge? Two chapters in one day? I'm so bad at going through with threats. But anyhow, from here it's all about that fluff. The time scheme (months, days, hours) may seem a bit off, but it's all for the development of the story, so if you happen to be OCD about these sorts of things, I sincerely apologize. Also, did I mention earlier on that Sai was Naruto's ex? I remember hinting at Naruto breaking up with his boyfriend, but maybe I omitted a word or two that gave the indication that he broke up. I'll have to go back and check, but yes, Sai has been Naruto's ex for quite some time now. Onward we go!

**Disclaimer: **Oh, I'm sorry. Did I just steal your title character, Masashi?

**Chapter Eight**

Sasuke seethed at the sight of Sai, laughing whenever the blonde dobe next to him laughed and joking around with him. Ever since Sai had been hired into their company, Naruto had seemed inseparable from Sai, and Sasuke had wanted nothing more than to rip the blonde from Sai's clutches and keep Naruto in his own arms. His glare darkened to a point that would make even Itachi shudder as Naruto hugged Sai, laughing even louder than before.

"Good lord." Kiba had walked up to Sasuke without the man even noticing. "Who ya planning to murder today, then?"

Sasuke said nothing, only jerking his head toward Sai.

Kiba looked toward the direction of Sasuke's indication, not understanding at first. When he saw Naruto wrapped in Sai's arms, he grinned wolfishly. "Ah, the little ray of sunshine being snatched away from you?"

Sasuke glared at Kiba out of the corner of his eye. Kiba backed away, hands held out in front of him as if surrendering, though the grin still stayed on his face.

"You know, you're gonna have to make a move on him if you really want him that bad, Sasuke."

Sasuke sighed tiredly at that, rubbing his eyes wearily. "I've given him signals! I just-"

"So you admit it." Kiba's grin grew even larger. "You like Naruto."

Sasuke only glared some more. "He's too clueless to understand." He lay on top of his desk, burying his face into his arms.

"Then _make _him understand. Even if you have to confess." Kiba sat down on Sasuke's desk. "He's not going to just come running to you of his own accord."

"But I want him," Sasuke said childishly, like a little kid would say to a toy.

Kiba laughed. "You seriously want him _that_ bad?"

"Yes." Sasuke raised his head so that only his eyes were visible above the cradle his arms made, glowering at Kiba. "And I'm going to get him. I just have to think of a way to get rid of Sai."

"How can you be sure that Naruto wants you as well?"

Sasuke thought back to the time at the hotel, where he'd caught Naruto blushing and staring when he was half naked. That was only once, though; it was too little to be sure. "I can't."

Kiba looked surprised for a moment, then schooled his face back to its smile. "I guess I'll just have to pester Naruto now, won't I?"

"It's no use," Sasuke replied dejectedly. "He's fallen for Sai once, he can do it again. The dobe hates me."

"Whoa! Think you can be, I dunno, optimistic for once?" Kiba asked incredulously. "What happened to the 'Uchihas always get what they want' thing?"

"This is different."

"Not exactly."

"Yes. It. Is." Sasuke growled through gritted teeth.

Kiba looked affronted for a moment, then he frowned and jumped off of Sasuke's desk. "You know, now I have to prove you wrong." He called back over his shoulder.

"Can't you drop it like a good doggy for once?" Sasuke retorted angrily.

"I thought you knew me, Sasuke. When have I ever been good?" Kiba threw a two-fingered salute back in Sasuke's direction before taking a seat before Naruto and Sai, dragging his keyboard in front of him and pretending to stare at his computer screen, though in reality he was observing the two in front of him.

They interacted like they were still a happy couple, like they had never broken up. They laughed together, joked amongst themselves, playfully teased each other and displayed public shows of affection like it was nothing. Kiba had to wonder why Naruto had ever broken up with the man, because they looked so happy together.

"Oh!" Naruto's words registered faintly in Kiba's brain. "Sai, this is Kiba!" Kiba's faraway look focused, bringing his attention to the blonde gesturing excitedly at him.

"How's it going, man?" Kiba asked, lazily stretching out a hand in front of him. Sai took it, smiling back at Kiba.

"Pretty good, now that I've been reunited with this one," Sai replied, ruffling Naruto's hair with his other hand.

Kiba smiled politely, retracting his hand. "How long have you two been together?" He asked casually.

"Hmm…" Naruto and Sai looked at each other, obviously doing calculations in their heads.

"Since we were in college?" Naruto questioned.

Sai looked amused. "Really, I'm hurt that you don't remember. It was for two and a half years, Naru."

Kiba nearly grimaced at the nickname.

"Yep!" Naruto grinned at Kiba, grabbing Sai's hand and intertwining their fingers in the space between their chairs. Shit, Kiba could feel Sasuke's death glare burning holes in his back in their attempt to laser through Sai.

"I broke it off, though, because I had to come here to get a job, and I couldn't really do long distance." Naruto explained. "I missed him a lot, and I'm happy he's here now. How long has it been since we last saw each other?" Naruto asked, turning to Sai.

"About two years."

"Damn, that long?" Naruto looked back to Kiba, smiling. "We met in high school, and Sai was one of my best friends," the blonde explained. "Along with Shika and Gaara, we were the happiest little fucks in the world. Then one day, I used this pathetic pickup line on Sai in a pathetic attempt to ask him out, and he thought it was just so pathetic that he took pity on me, and then we began going out." Naruto laughed, Sai joining in.

"Ah, I remember that," Sai reminisced. "That line was terrible. I don't even know why I went out with such a loser like you."

"Hey," Naruto pouted. "You loved me back then. You would kiss me without even telling me you were gonna do it. And, you were my first crush, so of course that line was bad."

Kiba took in all of this information, wishing them a good day while they continued to banter back and forth. He stood, rushing back to Sasuke.

"Well?" Sasuke inquired as Kiba ran up.

"Uh…" Kiba searched for the right words. "It…doesn't look good."

Sasuke's head fell forward limply into his arms once again.

* * *

"Please, Itachi! Come on, just listen to me this once!" Sasuke pleaded, even going down on his knees in front of his brother in their secluded office.

"Now, why on earth would I do that?" Itachi asked, a mischievous twinkle in his black eyes.

"I thought you wanted me to be happy!"

"I thought you hated Naruto," Itachi countered, his smirk growing ever wider.

"I-" Sasuke was lost for words. If he admitted to Itachi that he liked that blonde, but utterly adorable, idiot, he would most certainly never hear the end of it. "I-I do," Sasuke cursed at his stammering, "But I'd rather be with him than any of the other workers!" Yes, he would _much_ rather be with Naruto, alone without any other pale, black-haired men hovering over the blonde.

Itachi smirked at him a while longer, before turning his back on Sasuke. "No."

Sasuke gaped. "What? Why?!" he demanded angrily.

"Hmm, that wouldn't be fair for our new employee, would it?"

"Who cares about _him,_ I'm your brother!" Sasuke argued.

"Yes, but I can't make exceptions for you just because we share blood," Itachi replied calmly, sitting down at his desk and typing away at his computer. "Besides, I'm the CEO."

"I'm also the CEO, Itachi!" Sasuke swore. He felt like a little kid again, arguing over the possession of a toy or whatnot. "Just give me a mission with him!"

"Nope."

Sasuke was just about to release a flood of profanities at his brother before a small, timid knock sounded at the door.

"Helloooooo?" Naruto's voice singsonged through the walls.

"Come in," Itachi called. Sasuke turned angrily upon Itachi, but he couldn't stay mad for long upon seeing his favorite blonde.

"Yo!" Naruto sauntered in, hands behind his head. Sasuke was relieved to see that, at least now, Sai was nowhere to be seen. "You guys up for a Christmas party at my aunt's place tomorrow?"

"Sasuke would love to go," Itachi piped up, "But I'm afraid I have other complications bothering me tomorrow."

"Aw, come on, Itachi!" Naruto complained. "It's a Saturday!"

"Life is tough when you're king," Itachi replied cheekily.

"Who else is going?" Sasuke interrupted their argument.

"Hmmm…" Naruto ticked off his fingers one by one. "Tenten, Gaara, Shikamaru, Lee, Kiba, Sakura, Ino, Chouji, Shino…" Naruto thought for a moment. "Kakashi and Iruka can't come, and I got _way_ too much information on why they couldn't," Naruto wrinkled his nose in disgust. Sasuke listened with growing hope that-"Oh, and Sai's coming as well."

Just like that, Sasuke's balloon was violently and completely popped. He considered saying no, growing sullen that he couldn't be alone with Naruto, but then his inner voice reminded him that if he wasn't there to keep Sai in check, who knew what Sai could do to Naruto behind Sasuke's back? The prospect was too much to ignore, so Sasuke replied with, "Yes, I'm coming."

"Awesome," Naruto replied, smiling warmly at Sasuke. Sasuke blushed suddenly at how inviting Naruto suddenly looked, rather than cheeky and indignant. It was quite a nice change, Sasuke thought, not even noticing how Naruto began looking a bit freaked out at how intensely Sasuke's eyes never wavered from his.

"Um…you in there, Sasuke?" Naruto waved a hand in front of Sasuke's face, who snapped out of it immediately.

"Sorry, just…thinking." Sasuke's voice trailed off as he stepped around Naruto. "See you around, dobe."

Naruto continued staring strangely at Sasuke's back, before remembering the real reason he had come to Itachi's office in the first place.

"Hey, uh, Itachi," Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously as Itachi raised his eyebrows questioningly at the blonde. "Think I can take the rest of the day off? I really want to see the kid, I missed him a lot," Naruto laughed.

Itachi smiled at Naruto. "Go ahead."

"You're the best!" Naruto shouted before rushing out of the office, the door slamming against the wall and making the passing Tenten step back in shock, her water spilling onto the ground. "Sorry about that. Tenten!" Naruto called back over his shoulder

"'Ruka!" Naruto shouted, sprinting to where he knew Iruka would be sitting, busy at work. "Need the keys!"

Iruka didn't even look up from his computer as he tossed the keys at Naruto. "See ya later!" Naruto sprinted toward the elevator, too excited to see his nephew to say a goodbye to anyone.

* * *

A few minutes after Naruto had disappeared down the elevator, the conversation Itachi was having over the phone floated over to the team's ears.

"Yes, can I get Deidara on? Yeah, I need it after the break… my little brother. Yes, one more. Good."

The rest of the conversation was cut off as Itachi paused, writing something down.

The team returned to their work, only to be interrupted once again by Itachi's chillingly evil chuckles resonating from his office. Everyone in the vicinity shuddered, sure to be plagued by nightmares by the sound that no one should ever be doomed enough to hear.

* * *

Naruto threw the door open, scaring a waiting Konohamaru sitting near the front door half to death by his enthusiasm. "I'm back!" he yelled, his voice echoing throughout the house as Konohamaru leapt from his seated position into Naruto's outstretched arms. He buried his face into Naruto's neck as Naruto brought him close, inhaling the familiar scent of his uncle.

"I missed you," the boy mumbled, trying but failing to conceal his sniffles.

Naruto's bright grin softened into something more fatherly as he patted the boy on the back. "I feel ya, Squirt. I missed you too."

Konohamaru's arms tightened around Naruto's neck, compressing his windpipe slightly. "Hang on there," he gasped, "I need to breathe." He switched his grip on Konohamaru, setting him on his shoulders and feeling Konohamaru bury his face into the golden locks. "That's better," he smiled, taking a hold of Konohamaru's legs as they dangled from around his neck. "We have to go back to my work for a second, okay?"

"Why?" Konohamaru immediately complained. Naruto grinned impishly, holding up Iruka's keys. "Stole the guy's car while I was at it."

"Oh," Konohamaru giggled as he was pulled off Naruto's shoulders and seated in the car.

"Iruka and Kakashi take good care of you, then?" Naruto asked as entered the car, pulling the seatbelt across his chest "Didn't corrupt you too much?"

"They were nice." Konohamaru paused for a moment before Naruto saw a mischievous grin cross the boy's face. "And Kakashi-san taught me a lot."

"Oh, hell no." Naruto muttered as he backtracked, returning to the headquarters. "You forget _everything_ the bad man ever tells you, okay?"

"But why?" Konohamaru smirked evilly. "It was interesting, and I never knew those things."

"Most likely, you were better off not knowing them either," Naruto grumbled as he pulled over in the parking lot. "Out." He ordered.

Konohamaru pouted as he got out, Naruto following soon after. "I can't just forget them. Kakashi-san even showed me pictures-"

"WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed. "Oh, I am _so _going back in there and beating the son of a bitch up!" He made to march into the building, but Konohamaru's tugging at the end of his shirt stopped him.

"I was kidding, kidding!" Konohamaru exclaimed, laughing.

Naruto frowned, tapping the smaller boy on the nose. "You'd better be," he warned, before taking Konohamaru's little hand in his and leading him down the street to where their apartment was. They attracted many smiles along the way, as they laughed and chased after each other, but they settled down once they reached their cozy apartment.

"Only five days, and it's this dusty," Naruto complained under his breath. "Hey, Kono-chan, you want to see Baachan later today?"

Konohamaru looked up at him as Naruto set his keys on the kitchen table.

"She's scary," Konohamaru sniffed.

"Ero-sennin will be there too," Naruto rolled his eyes at the kid's sudden cowardice.

"Yes!" Konohamaru squealed. "I haven't seen Jiraiya-sama in _ages!_"

"Gee, I wonder why," Naruto sweatdropped, remembering the old man's 'research' and the multitudes of porn books he owned and wrote that he called literature. "I won't be here tomorrow night, Squirt," he called as he opened the refrigerator and took out a cooler of water, gulping it down straight from the container.

"Why?" Konohamaru asked, pouting a bit.

"I've got a party," Naruto explained. "Think you can handle staying here alone?"

"Yes." Konohamaru grumbled. "But it won't be the same without you."

Naruto set the container down, wiping liquid from his chin and grinning. "Awe, that's the cutest thing I've ever heard you say."

"You say that a lot."

"It's not my fault you're adoooorabibles!" Naruto sang, tickling Konohamaru's sides, both falling to the ground laughing.

"I love you," Konohamaru whispered after his laughter had died off.

Naruto looked at him in surprise, whistling. "Gotten a little sentimental, have ya?" He chuckled as he saw Konohamaru chewing on his lip, trying to hold back the tears that were welling in his eyes. "I love you too, Squirt," he whispered affectionately, pulling Konohamaru so he was lying on top of Naruto's chest, encircled by his uncle's arms.

They lay there on the floor together for a while, neither of them making any attempt to speak. Neither of them minded, however; it was their own kind of happiness that made it special.

* * *

"Ready to see Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked Konohamaru as they rode in their taxi to their destination.

"Yes!" Konohamaru squealed happily.

"If you get out of line, if you _touch_ any of those disgusting books," Naruto warned, "I'm loosing Baachan on you."

"Yes, Naruto," Konohamaru rolled his eyes.

Within a few minutes, the two had happily waved off their taxi and had set up the steps to the mansion on top of them.

"I can't believe they can even afford this place," Naruto grumbled.

"Well, Jiraiya's books are very well known."

"Che!" Naruto snorted in derision. "Of course they are, it's porn."

"Uh huh."

Naruto lifted Konohamaru up so he could ring the doorbell. Shortly afterwards, he could hear Tsunade's loud, bossy voice screaming at Jiraiya to "OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!"

The front door was opened, and Naruto and Konohamaru were ushered inside and into a waiting pair of arms.

"Oh, it's you, Gaki." Jiraiya sounded grumpy, but Naruto could see that his eyes were shining with happiness.

"Reporting for duty, along with Squirt here," he grinned, bouncing Konohamaru up and down on his shoulders.

"Oh, great, another brat to deal with." Jiraiya turned his back on the pair, only to have Tsunade race up behind him as she hugged the two as well, cracking Naruto's ribs even more with her monstrous strength.

"Hey, old hag," Naruto wheezed after she had let go, immediately receiving a blow around the head afterwards.

"Old hag?!" She screeched. "Take that back!"

Naruto only chuckled, and soon her grouchiness gave way to a warm welcome.

"How are you? Doing okay, got enough money? Feeding the brat well?" she asked, gesturing to Konohamaru.

"Yeah, yeah, we're fine," Naruto answered, shoving past her and receiving yet another blow.

"OW!" Naruto brought both hands up to nurse his aching head, while Konohamaru jumped down to avoid being accidentally smacked, snickering loudly at Naruto's pain.

"What the hell did I tell you about being rude, Naruto!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Naruto cried. "Good God, is this the welcome I get after three years of separation-"

He was cut short as a pot was flung at his head, hitting and striking its target with a clear thrum of vibrating metal.

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!"

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"

**A/N: **Okay, I'm gonna be honest here. So I was thinking of my idea for the next fanfic after this, and I was writing that random little scene with Konohamaru and Naruto (honestly, I adore Konohamaru) and I was suddenly struck by a very, very dark thought involving Konohamaru's death. I nearly started crying D: But no worries, none of that angst crap is gonna be in here! That's another story for another time. Stay tuned for more! Sarge out!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **I have way, WAY too many ideas for possible fanfiction swirling around in my head Gah, I swear, it's taking over my life. Oh well, I love it! But you know what I don't love? Beer. It's so bitter…

**Disclaimer: ***sobs at not owning Naruto*

**Chapter Nine**

Naruto sprang up from his seat on Tsunade's favorite couch, hearing the doorbell ring. He vaulted over the line of couches and chairs, springing up and racing to open the doors.

"Hey!" Naruto grinned, flinging the door wide. "Come in!"

His entire team filed in, staring around the place in wonder. Even Sasuke looked mildly impressed, coming in last and shutting the door behind him.

"This place all yours?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide at the lavish array of furniture in the living room.

"Nah, the Pervert's. He writes porn for a living," Naruto replied easily, laughing as Sakura and Ino blanched at the obvious vulgarity of his easygoing answer.

"Man, your head alright?" Kiba asked him, pointing to the bandages around his head.

"Oh yeah, I'm great," Naruto replied bitterly as the group sat in a large circle, some on the floor and others on the couches and loveseats. "The hag lobbed a fucking pot at my face yesterday. It was like a gong, man."

"You deserved it, Naruto," Chouji snickered.

"Shut up," Naruto shot back, counting heads in the room. Sakura, Ino, Tenten, Lee, Chouji, Shino, Gaara, Shikamaru, Kiba, Sasuke… The only missing person was Sai.

"Where's Sai?" He wondered aloud.

In that moment, the chatter died down. Every person in the room looked nervously at each other, and then discreetly to Sasuke, who was staring down at his hands with murder in his eyes. Of course, this all went unnoticed by the blonde.

"Uh, m-maybe we should start without him," Kiba piped up nervously from his seat next to Sasuke, the dark, jealous aura from the man washing over him and making him quiver.

Naruto shrugged. "Sure thing." Naruto picked his way around his seated friends, coming over and sitting down between Gaara and Sasuke at the foot of a couch. Sasuke looked up as Naruto sat next to him before looking back down, though they had all seen the small smile cross his face while Naruto had his back turned, speaking to Gaara. There was a sigh of relief from everyone, particularly Kiba, as the chilling waves of Sasuke's murder toward Sai died down.

"Er, hang on," Naruto muttered as the conversation started again. "I'll go get the beer." Many whoops and cheers came from this, making Naruto laugh.

While Naruto was gone, the doorbell rang once more, Ino hopping up cheerfully. "I'll get it!" She called.

Crossing over to the door, she opened it, a loud greeting on her lips. "Hi-uh…" Ino paused, eyes widening a fraction when she saw who it was. Ooh, this wasn't going to be pretty. "Hey Sai!" She finished nervously, beckoning him in just in time to see Naruto returning to his seat with a large case of beer.

Ino led the way to the living room, gulping as Sasuke looked up and his dark eyes zeroed in to the man behind her, who was smiling cheerfully. Sasuke's eyes boiled with unhidden anger and distrust, turning them almost red.

"Heya, Sai!" Naruto called, smiling and waving.

"Naruto," Sai nodded, taking a seat on the opposite side of Naruto, much to Sasuke's satisfaction.

"So…" Shikamaru started as he caught a beer from Naruto. "What exactly are we doing at this party?"

Naruto paused from making his rounds with the drinks. "Uhh…" he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I…don't actually have a plan."

Everyone around the circle stared up at him in disbelief, Naruto growing increasingly fidgety as the glares continued. Eventually, Kiba came to his rescue.

"Hey, Shikamaru, truth or dare?" Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as he finished with the beer, tossing the empty case on the ground as he sat down again, popping open his own beer.

Shikamaru only stared. "You want to play a schoolgirl sleepover game."

"Hey, now," Kiba growled. "Truth or dare never gets old, if you just come up with the right questions."

Shikamaru stared some more, before muttering, "What a pain," under his breath. "I pick truth."

Kiba leered at him. "Is it true that you like Gaara's sist-"

"No." Shikamaru's voice was flat, bored even, but the blood rushing to his cheeks proved otherwise. Naruto looked to Gaara, and seeing the man flat out gape at Shikamaru with the knowledge of this new information almost made him choke.

Kiba's evil leer only grew wider, as he, along with all the other snickering friends around the circle, obviously didn't believe that for a second. "Sure thing, man. Your turn, then." Kiba sat back and took a long draught from his beer.

Shikamaru's eyes roved around the circle before stopping at Shino. "Hey, Shino. Truth or dare?"

Shino looked taken aback at being called on. "Truth," he said softly. Naruto and the others gasped at hearing the man speak, as he spoke so rarely.

"Why do you always have that collar up, and why do you always have sunglasses? Is it because of some sort of weird infection?"

"I doubt you want to find out," Shino whispered

"Aye, I think you're right," Shikamaru muttered, looking away.

"Inuzuka." Kiba let out a startled yip before regaining his composure, glaring at Shino. "Yes, Aburame?" He asked, mimicking Shino's strange usage of last names.

"Answer the question."

"You didn't ask me a question!" Kiba exclaimed, outraged.

"I would have assumed it was obvious what question needs to be answered, as you were the one who suggested the game.

Kiba scowled darkly as Naruto snickered, sullen at being outsmarted. "Dare."

Shino turned his face to Naruto, who could only assume Shino was looking at him. He couldn't really tell, those sunglasses hid his eyes pretty well.

"Do you have any more beer?" Shino asked.

"Hell yes!" Naruto jumped up to get another case, both Sasuke's and Sai's eyes following him.

"Down six beers in a row."

Kiba scoffed. "Is that all you got?"

He grabbed the case as Naruto returned, pulling out six of the frigid beers. "If anything, the brainfreeze's gonna get to me."

They all sat on their knees, cheering him on as Kiba started pouring the beers down his throat. It was amazing, really; the beer seemed to just vanish down the man's throat, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. In less than five minutes, he had slammed the last beer down, turning it upside down to show that it was indeed empty.

"Done!" He yelled, looking a bit green. He got to his feet unsteadily, lurching a bit as he heaved. "Uh-I think I'm gonna be sick." And with that, he bounded over the heads of Tenten and Sakura, yelling back to Naruto, "Oi, where's the bathroom!"

"Last door, end of the hall!" Naruto shouted back, laughing.

A few minutes later, the sounds of retching floated back to the living room, the guys doubled over laughing while the girls look mildly disgusted. Of course, a few, such as Sasuke, Gaara, Shino, and Shikamaru remained emotionless, only rolling their eyes.

Kiba returned, hand covering his mouth, though he looked a good deal better than before. "Ungh," he moaned before plopping down. "I take it back; I am never doing that again." Removing his hand, he looked at Naruto. "Truth or dare, Foxface?"

Naruto grinned. "Dare, Dogbreath."

"Hmm…" Kiba looked at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, a wicked gleam lighting up his face. "Make out with Sai."

Sai looked immensely pleased, while Naruto looked at Kiba oddly. "I thought dares have to be something that you didn't want to do.

"So you want to kiss Sai?" Sasuke bit out, unable to contain his jealousy.

Naruto shrugged, scooting toward the smirking Sai. "Can't say that I've never done it before."

The second their lips met, Sasuke's sight turned red and hazy, clenching his hands into fists and leaning forward as if to spring. When Sai's tongue passed Naruto's lips, Kiba had to jump in front of Sasuke to stop him from pouncing on the pair, wrenching Naruto away from Sai's clutches and claiming the loud blonde for himself. Kiba was stifling his evil cackles until Sasuke's cold fingers wrapped loosely around his neck, tightening for a brief second while Sasuke's eyes stared into Kiba's, swirling with anger and murder. Kiba gulped, Shikamaru and Chouji snickering loudly at them, while Sasuke let go of Kiba as Naruto and Sai broke apart, forcing a nonchalant look upon his face.

"Just like old times, eh?" Sai asked, licking his lips and smiling.

"Hmph. Horny bastard," Naruto grumbled before standing and sitting back down in his previous position. Sasuke noted as a small consolation that Naruto did not choose to sit next to Sai.

"So…" Naruto turned to Sasuke, shooting him a fox grin that had Sasuke's heart pounding. "You haven't been done yet, have you?"

"No." _But I would have no complaints to being 'done' by you._

"What'll it be, then?"

"Dare."

"Ah, shit, I suck at dares." Naruto thought for a moment. "Propose to Kiba."

"WHAT?!" Both of them exclaimed, staring at Naruto in horror.

"Right in the middle of this circle, like you mean it." Naruto inwardly died as the pair stared at each other, disgust and horror evident in their expressions.

"Come on, Sasuke!" Tenten yelled, the others joining in on the chant. "Kneel! Kneel! Kneel! Kneel!"

Sasuke slowly rose, Kiba staring up at him in disbelief before he too rose to his full height. Utterly humiliated, their cheeks stained pink, they made their way into the center of the circle.

"Like you mean it!" Naruto called out once again over the chants before dissolving into helpless laughter once again.

Sasuke glowered at Naruto, before fixing his glare onto Kiba's equally hardened face. Slowly, he knelt before the shaggy haired man, taking one of Kiba's hands in his own.

He cleared his throat, the chants dying down as every person in the room leaned forward on their knees, eager to see Sasuke submit himself to this embarrassing fate.

_Alright,_ Sasuke thought. _He's Naruto. Pretend he's Naruto. _"Inuzuka Kiba," he began, gritting his teeth to the wolf whistles and catcalls that followed his words, "Since the very first time I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were special." _He's Naruto. I'm proposing to Naruto._ "Ever since the first day, you being the annoyingly loud do-" he paused, catching himself before he accidentally spoke aloud the insult that had become more like a pet name instead. "Annoyingly loud dumbass you were," he corrected himself, "I knew that whether or not I liked it, I was falling for you. Hard." Sasuke swallowed, meeting Kiba's eyes for the first time since they had agreed to do this. "And now, here I am, and I ask only one thing of you." At this point, Sasuke was clenching his teeth, his knuckles white from the force of his grip on Kiba's hand, while Kiba was looking intensely uncomfortable. "Will you marry me," he spat, all sincerity lost. The room dissolved into tears of laughter, cheers ringing in their ears, while Kiba practically burst into humiliated tears and dove into a broken pile next to Naruto, who had his face buried in his hands as his laughs bordered on hysteria. Sasuke took his seat in a more dignified manner, though as he sat his eyes met the challenging glare of Sai's from across the room. He met the glare with one of his own, both men silently conveying the same message. _Naruto is mine._

"That was astoundingly good," Naruto said between laughs, looking at Sasuke through teary blue eyes. "Proposed to many people, much?"

Sasuke stared coldly at Naruto, though his heart wasn't in it. "It's not my fault you are the stuttering mess that you are."

That shut Naruto up. Sitting upright and glaring at Sasuke, he hissed through clenched teeth, "Your turn."

Sasuke smirked at Naruto before surveying the faces that looked eagerly to his, hoping that their turn would be next.

"Lee."

"Yes, Sasuke-san!" Lee saluted him. It was ridiculous, really, of how Lee addressed others, but it was also something that only Lee could pull off. In fact, none of his friends could ever imagine Lee without his eccentric personality.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Everyone quirked an ear to this. It was obvious what was going to be asked, and although they had each questioned it to no end, no one had ever brought it up with Lee before.

"Is there _really_ nothing going on between you and Gai?" Sasuke asked. For once, spite and ridicule did not mar his tone, it was only curiosity.

Lee laughed openly at this. "No, Sasuke-san," he reassured. "Gai-sensei is only one to be admired by my fellow youthful coworkers, and I strive to be like him one day!" Lee's rant about youthfulness continued for quite a while, but Sasuke and the others hand tuned him out long before he'd even finished the word 'admired.'

"Tenten-san!" Lee turned to Tenten, who was sitting next to him.

Tenten looked up from her faraway state. "Huh? Wha-oh. I pick dare."

"Demonstrate to us your youthful skill with knives!" Lee begged, admiration shining in his eyes.

Tenten looked at him disappointedly. "That's it?"

Lee nodded earnestly.

"Lee, you ask me to do this almost every day," Tenten reprimanded as she stood to get a knife from the kitchen. "Don't you ever get tired of it?"

"No, and Naruto-kun hasn't seen you in the prime of your youth, either," Lee responded, looking like a kid who was about to go on a roller coaster ride.

Tenten returned, standing in the midde of the room with a large steak knife, everyone leaning away in apprehension from her. She fingered the edges, tossing it up in the air with a calm, thoughtful expression before, without warning, she grabbed it from its fall in midair and flung it straight at Kiba. Kiba gave a startled yelp, ducking as the knife sailed over his head and landed hilt-deep into the couch cushion right next to Gaara's face, the man not even blinking as the sharp thing buried itself an inch from his face.

The others laughed heartily at Kiba's sobs, Tenten marching over to pull the knife out of the couch and making Kiba shrink back even more.

"Damn it, why does this shit always happen to me?!"

* * *

The rest of the night passed without much incident. Lee had almost ransacked the room in his drunken stupor, but luckily Tenten and Ino held him down, berating him soundly for drinking too much. Shikamaru and Kiba were once again dead drunk, and even Gaara was beginning to sway slightly as he stood up.

The few of them that were sober were still trading dares, ignoring the drunk annoyances, but occasionally letting them participate in a game or two.

"I got a dare for ya, Sasuke-chan," Kiba slurred, draping his arm around Sasuke's shoulders and grinning as Sasuke pulled away instinctively.

Shikamaru sat down heavily beside Kiba, his usually uptight façade gone and replaced by a Shikamaru that was scarily similar to Kiba. "Make out with Naruto, how 'bout it? We know how much you like him," Shikamaru winked as Sasuke quickly looked back to the blonde to see if he had heard. Much to his relief, the blonde was helping Gaara steady himself.

"Keep it down, will you?" he hissed. "I don't even think Naruto wants to kiss me-"

"Oi, Naruto!" Shikamaru called, grinning as Naruto looked over. "You've been dared to make out with Sasuke."

Naruto turned white, glancing quickly at Sasuke before meeting Shikamaru and Kiba's eyes once more, feeling lightheaded although he wasn't at all opposed to the idea.

"A-actually," Naruto stammered, "I don't want to do anything to make Sasuke angry-"

"Oh, for the love of God," Gaara hissed exasperatedly before pushing Naruto down to Sasuke's level on his knees and jamming his shoulders forward, forcing Naruto's mouth to slam against Sasuke's with startling force.

It came as a surprise for Sasuke when Naruto, instead of pulling away immediately, stayed there for a moment, staring into Sasuke's wide eyes, before something stirred in those blue depths that Sasuke could never grow tired of staring at. The eyes slid closed, and instead, Naruto pushed himself even closer in, making Sasuke's hand come up automatically to rest on the side of Naruto's jaw. They moved their lips in harmony in a chaste kiss, before Sasuke took the plunge, taking the initiative. Opening his mouth slightly, he let his tongue wander out, licking along the seam of Naruto's lips, a shock of pleasure running through him when Naruto's mouth opened almost immediately to his pleas. He slipped his tongue into Naruto's mouth and made careful rounds with his tongue, being sure to taste everything, running the tip of his tongue lightly across Naruto's teeth and flicking against the roof of the blonde's mouth, making him gasp in surprise. Naruto's tongue suddenly chased after Sasuke's, catching it and pushing it back and forth, swaying together in their slow dance while Naruto and Sasuke were both in rapture.

All too soon, Naruto was the first one to pull back. Sasuke absolutely yearned for more from the blonde, and maybe it was his imagination, but Naruto seemed to be a bit reluctant to end the kiss as well. As they became faintly aware of their surroundings, though their senses were still being bombarded by each other, they came to realize with slight embarrassment that everyone had their eyes on the two. Sai had risen, his fists clenched and an expression of utmost hatred on his face, much to Sasuke's delight, while the others were only staring open mouthed.

"Heh," Kiba snickered, putting his hand atop Sasuke's head. "Took that for all it was worth, didn't you?" he hissed in Sasuke's ear, the influence of alcohol fading off fast.

Sasuke could think of nothing to say in return to that. Everyone was silent, until cheering and catcalls much like the ones in response to Sasuke and Kiba's mock proposal started up. Their party gained in volume until, once again, it was like it had just started, Naruto and Sasuke's little session all but forgotten. Naruto stood slowly, not meeting Sasuke's eyes.

"Uh, I-I need a drink," he said in excuse, before heading to the kitchen, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the cool stainless steel surface of the fridge door.

_What was that?_ Naruto wondered, holding his stomach as though he was going to be sick. It was like being a teenager all over again. He'd never felt the feeling he was feeling right now, not even with Sai, and he had been convinced that, once upon a time, he had been completely in love with the man. At the moment, the nervousness, lightheadedness, and above all, the _sheer happiness_ he was feeling made even the highlights of his past relationship pale in comparison. Naruto vehemently denied it, but as far away as he tried to push the thought into the darkest, most isolated corners of his mind, Naruto knew that it was true what that little voice kept whispering in his ear, each time he saw Sasuke and each time he tried to go to sleep, tangled in the covers and tossing and turning. He was beyond help or rescue at this point; there was no point in denying that he was hopelessly in love with Sasuke.

* * *

**A/N: **Little insight on my personal life: Well, I'm in the middle of writing another fanfiction. Yep, already. Don't worry, I will most definitely finish this one, that goes without saying. After this, though, humour and silly fics to pass the time are going to be less and less, replaced with (hopefully) more professional and well thought out tales. There's still going to be humour, though. Angst makes me die a little inside every time I read any of that shizz.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Good lord, I am exhausted. It was below freezing, and I just stood out in the cold for an hour because I had my damn soccer tournament. :C So, this fanfiction is slowly coming to a close. I originally wrote out a whole plot, but then I decided to keep it short and sweet like Haunted House for this one, since these are simply to gauge my levels of writing and see what I need to improve. Don't worry, though. It's gonna be a long while before the end comes, I plan to make this at least 50,000 words. With that, enjoy this next chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I own Kiba.

**Warnings: **Up for a bit of lime in this one?

**Chapter Ten**

They stumbled through Sasuke's front door, Naruto groaning as he was pushed up against the wall the second they had crossed the threshold. Sasuke's lips attached hungrily to Naruto's neck, sucking the delicious, salty skin into his mouth before biting harshly.

"Ah-fuck you, asshole," Naruto groaned in pain, though he was already arching off the wall and grinding harshly against Sasuke's hips.

"Mmm…" Sasuke breathed, before kissing the red, sore patch of flesh lovingly, as if apologizing for what he had done. His nose full of Naruto's amazing scent, his soft blonde hair brushing against Sasuke's nose, and the feeling of Naruto's hands running up and down his sides made his senses cloud over, losing track of time as well as reality.

Somehow, they had pushed off the wall and collapsed on Sasuke's couch in the living room, stumbling numerous times but being caught by the other, their lips glued together and their tongues battling.

"Hurry up," Naruto gasped as he fell onto the couch, Sasuke going down with him, the raven smirking at how Naruto had unraveled before him. He steadied the bucking hips with one hand, using it to unbuckle Naruto's belt, tugging his zipper down and reaching into Naruto's boxers-

Sasuke's fingers wrapped around his phone, swiping downward at the screen to answer the call. Letting out a colorful string of curses, Sasuke swore he was going to _kill_ the fucker that had interrupted his dream, leaving him with a near insatiable need for his blonde coworker and a burning erection in his pants.

"Yo! Sasuke, man, where the hell are you? Itachi's about to call a meeting!" Kiba's voice rang through the device, cutting through Sasuke's sleep hazed thoughts.

"Kiba. I am going to fucking kill you." Although Kiba had been the one who had given Sasuke the first taste of Naruto's lips last night, he was still a very, very pissed Uchiha indeed.

"Yeah, yeah, man!" Kiba blabbered, not even listening. A faint "OI, NARUTO! Don't flip the table!" emitted from the phone, and Sasuke just had to smile at that image. "Just get your ass up here, man! Your little ray of sunshine is wrecking the place over here-OW!" The line cut off, leaving Sasuke highly amused, at least until he glanced down at his laps. Sighing, he set off for the bathroom, muttering a choked sentence to himself.

"Cold shower."

* * *

Naruto, on the other hand, was being his usual self. As they soon found out after he dove out of Itachi's office, it turned out that the ray of sunshine could actually be mildly violent. After flipping over two tables, the computer monitors crashing to the ground, he set about chasing after Kiba, throwing punches left and right at the poor man.

"You scheming bastard!" He yelled, as the others ducked for safety as the raging blonde ran past, "I am going to fucking _kill_ you, I swear to god!"

"It wasn't me, it wasn't me! I swear on it, Itachi's lying!" Kiba yowled, dodging the punches.

"A likely story!" Naruto roared. "You've always wanted to torture me like this, ever since Itachi sent Sasuke and me on that trip to Japan! How could you _do _this to me?! Didn't you fucking see the outcome that time?!"

"This time it's different," Kiba defended, leading Naruto in a wild chase around the row of tables that they usually worked at. "We're all going to be there this time!"

"Yeah, it's a hell of a lot different!" Naruto was beginning to be hoarse after all his yelling. Although the blonde was short compared to the others, it didn't stop him from being just short of outright terrifying when he was angry. "This time it's _Gai!_ The fucking Akatsuki too! It doesn't matter that it's an island resort, that doesn't make up for having those nightmares breathing down our necks, screaming at us for wasting our youth!"

"Look, why don't you take this to Itachi?" Kiba shouted, before spotting a calm Sasuke walking toward his office. "Or better yet, Sasuke himself!"

Naruto's head turned at the last statement so fast that he almost got whiplash. As Sasuke strode toward his office, his head lowered, Naruto sprang in front of his path, making him look up in surprise as the blonde hurled himself on top of Sasuke with the force and speed of a bullet, Sasuke crashing to the ground.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto shouted in anguish as he straddled Sasuke, the action making the raven blush as his thoughts immediately went back to his dream. "They're making us go on another trip together again! With _Gai_ and his Akatsuki crew!"

Sasuke's blush vanished, replaced by a look of cold fury. "Who did?"

"Kiba and Itachi! You _have_ to stop them!"

"Oi, I had no part in this!" Kiba snarled.

Naruto jumped up, pointing accusingly at Kiba. "Like hell I'll believe that! Sasuke-"

Naruto looked behind him for the man, but he had already stormed into Itachi's office.

"Itachi!" The shout was heard from even outside the soundproofed walls. "What the hell did you do?"

"Why, little brother, I only arranged us another meeting with our dear Gai."

"He's crazy! He scarred me when I was little, and you know that!"

Itachi leaned in close. "I'm only doing this for the sake of you and Naruto, little one. You'll be sharing a room."

Sasuke started to say something, but then shut his mouth. "Fine," he hissed, caving.

Itachi smirked as he watched his little brother exit their office. Sasuke had never shown as much interest in any other person besides Naruto, and Itachi was determined to get the two as close as they could possibly get.

"Well?" Naruto asked, his arms crossed as Sasuke emerged from the office. "You convinced him, right? Sasuke, I love you!" Naruto cried before Sasuke could even say anything.

"Actually, no."

Naruto did a comical double take. "Wait, what?!"

"It's already been arranged. I can't do anything about it."

Naruto stared in disbelief. "You mean to say that all of us are going on an island resort in paradise, at a private resort on the beach, that is owned by the Green Beast himself and the rest of the demons themselves, for coaching on how better to be a team?"

"Yep."

"Oh, fuck you."

* * *

Kiba sidled up to Naruto, who was staring intently at his computer screen, busy at work.

"'Ey. Need to talk to ya."

"Mm?" Naruto looked up questioningly.

Kiba beckoned toward him with a finger, retreating to the secluded cubicles that split the room.

"What do you need?" Naruto asked curiously, his anger thankfully gone now.

Kiba leaned against the wall with his shoulder, plastering a grin on his face. He'd had this conversation all too many times before with Sasuke. "You like him, don't you?"

Naruto looked confused. "Sai?"

Kiba sighed. "No, dipshit. Sasuke."

"What?!" Naruto asked, dropping his voice to a breathy whisper. "What makes you think that?"

"Everything," Kiba smirked. "The way you get so flustered around him, how you blush whenever he passes…" Kiba leaned closer to the poor blonde. "How you kissed him that night."

"Excuse me?" Naruto retorted, looking indignant. "We were dared to, by you! It's got nothing to do with my feelings for Sasuke!"

"Ah, so you admit that you _do_ have feelings for him?"

"I do not like Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, his voice rising.

Snickers were heard throughout the room. "Yes, you do." Tenten's voice called, sending the others into snorts of laughter. Naruto could only be thankful that Sasuke was nowhere in the room.

"I swear, if you bullshit to Sasuke about this…" Naruto hissed.

"He already knows, so why don't you just admit it?"

"I don't-" Unwittingly, Naruto's mind flashed back to the feelings he'd been overwhelmed in after he'd kissed Sasuke. "I…" Naruto's voice trailed off. "I-I do."

Kiba's grin only widened, thinking of all the things he could use to torment Sasuke with this piece of information. "Alright," he said casually, "Good to know."

Naruto glared halfheartedly at Kiba, his cheeks reddening in shame. "Get lost."

"Gladly." With that, Kiba left, leaving Naruto to his own confused, muddled thoughts.

* * *

**A/N: **Consider this a filler. I'm kind of at a writer's block right now, but I've been able to (mostly) overcome it. The story's almost done at this point. Updates may be a bit slow, since I'm so busy T.T Sarge out!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** So I took a break, but now I'm ready to get back to work! :D

**Disclaimer: **Seriously, do I have to put this in every single chapter?

**Warning:** OOC characters.

**Chapter Eleven**

"Hey, Sasuke."

"Yes, Kiba?" Sasuke asked, not bothering to look up from the pages of his magazine as the two rode in Itachi's limousine, speeding toward the airport.

"Betcha anything that I know something you don't know."

"Hn, I'm sure that's true," Sasuke replied languidly.

Kiba huffed in exasperation, disappointed by his boss's lack of reaction. "And it's about Naruto."

Sasuke, who was in the middle of turning the page upon hearing that bit of information, involuntarily jerked his hand, almost ripping the page off. "I'll pay for every extra service you call for on the resort. Final offer." He said tightly.

Kiba looked ecstatic at the news. "I'm holding you to that."

"Start talking, before I fire you."

Kiba grinned. "You know, it's kind of fun teasing you like this-"

"Inuzuka…"

Kiba snorted at Sasuke's impatience. He leaned forward toward Sasuke's ear, pausing for effect. "Naruto likes you," he hissed, his grin growing ever wider as Sasuke stiffened beside him.

As for Sasuke, he was lost in his own world, a level of happiness that even torturing his workers couldn't bring him on a normal day. It was almost scary to see the smile spread across his handsome face, accompanied by a deep chuckle. "He's mine now," Sasuke breathed, possessive light shining in his eyes. Kiba couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Naruto. Who knew what lengths Sasuke would go to in order to claim the blonde as his own?

* * *

"Uh, Sasuke?"

The raven, who was practically floating next to Kiba, looked over in slight annoyance at the man. "What?"

Kiba's mouth was dry, and he could practically feel his knees trembling. "Uh, I think you better rethink what you said earlier." He pointed across the building, where the Uchiha private planes and jets resided.

Sasuke followed his arm…and then he really did tear his magazine in half. The entire book. Just across the large floor, in the waiting area, sat Naruto. That wasn't the problem, though. The fact that Naruto sat on Sai's lap, the man resting his chin in the fluffy gold hair as they spoke casually together while holding hands, however, was. Sasuke took off, Kiba grabbing the back of his shirt in order to slow the rampaging beast down.

"Hold on!" Kiba whispered loudly, looking frightened beyond belief. "What are they doing?"

"I'm going to fucking kill him."

Kiba looked at Sasuke as though he was crazy. "What? No! Just go and casually," he emphasized the word with frantic motions of his hand, "ask them what the fuck they are doing!"

"He's touching what's mine, I'm fucking gutting that bastard before I ask what he's doing," Sasuke growled back, starting to walk again. Kiba dug his heels into the carpet, but to no avail. It was like trying to hold back a charging bull. All he could do was hang on helplessly to Sasuke's shirt as the man closed in on his target.

At the last moment, when Sasuke was just lowering his head to ram his horns straight into Sai's torso, Kiba suddenly thought of an excellent idea. He could practically see the lit lightbulb floating atop his head, just like in those old cartoons. It was risky, but it was better than just letting Sasuke have his way-and not _that_ way-with Sai.

"Hey, Naruto!" Kiba shouted, jumping in front of Sasuke as they approached Naruto, flinging his arms wide to stop Sasuke and keeling forward slightly with the impact of Sasuke behind him. "What's going on?" he asked, his face frozen with the smile as he dodged left and right to keep Sasuke from showing.

"Didn't you hear?" Naruto's face was set with a wide smile of his own. "Sai and I got back together!"

Oh, _shit. _ Kiba was beginning to realize how stupid of an idea this really was. As soon as the last word dropped from Naruto's lips, Sasuke stopped for a second, as if absorbing the terrible information, and then started trying to get past Kiba even harder than ever. Kiba started sweating, panting in his efforts to save the two from Sasuke's wrath.

Naruto was beginning to look quite concerned from the way Kiba still had his arms flung out, as he bobbed from side to side and turned red with exhaustion, panting heavily. "Uh…are you alright, Kiba?"

In one swift, fluid moment that Kiba patted himself on the back for, he let Sasuke run by him, only to grab him in a headlock, ruffling his hair as the raven continued trying to swing blows at Sai like a kitten with a yarn ball.

"Why hello there, Sasuke-chan, my boy! How lovely to see you on this fine day, it's been too long since we last saw each other!"

"Actually, you arrived here together," Naruto contradicted, staring at Sasuke's struggling form.

"Ah well, who couldn't miss this little ball of gloominess and death?" Kiba tried to cover up his mistake.

Naruto laughed, and the tension was erased from Kiba's nervous face. "That's true. I would miss his usual personal rain cloud hovering over us as we worked," he joked, and Sasuke looked up triumphantly at that. Sai, on the other hand, looked intensely displeased and wrapped his arms around Naruto, making Sasuke start struggling once again.

"Well, I think Sasuke needs to go cool down," Kiba stopped ruffling the black hair and instead ran his hand through his own tangled mess. "Had a bit too much coffee this morning. See ya around!" Kiba saluted Naruto, then hurriedly dragged Sasuke off to where the vending machines were placed.

"The fuck were you thinking?" Kiba hissed, slamming Sasuke into the wall and giving a friendly smile at a passing Tenten, who was staring at them curiously, followed by Lee and Shino. "Hey guys!"

He returned to the glowering Sasuke. "Don't give me that look. What were you _thinking_?"

"I told you! I don't want him anywhere near what belongs to _me_!" Sasuke hissed, his eyes flashing at Kiba.

Kiba looked nervously around them, realizing that they were drawing the unwanted attention of all their other coworkers. Shikamaru and Chouji were whispering to one another, and Gaara was staring at Kiba with a level expression. "Seriously, man. Stop overreacting." He he lifted the man up slammed Sasuke back into the wall as Sasuke made to retort. "We'll fix this, okay? Naruto doesn't know what he's doing!"

Sasuke looked disgusted at first, but relented. "Alright, but Sai _will_ get out of the picture."

"Yeah, sure! We'll do that! I gotta run, Shikamaru's after me!" Kiba looked panicked and then bolted, leaving Sasuke to calmly straighten out his ruffled shirt. While he was doing so, Shikamaru came up to him.

"What was that all about?" he drawled in his usual bored way.

"Nothing. Just some friendly advice."

"Ah." Shikamaru watched Sasuke struggle with his shirt for a bit. "Just so you know…"

"What?" Sasuke could barely hold back from snapping at the man.

"You'd better get Naruto away from Sai." Shikamaru said, all trace of boredom gone from his face.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, his cold demeanor lessening as Gaara walked up beside Shikamaru.

"That bastard is a monster," the redhead hissed. "Didn't Naruto tell you the story?"

"No," Sasuke replied, bemused. Though, he didn't have anything against another reason to kill Sai.

"He was a two faced, lying, cheating son of bitch." Gaara's usually stoic, emotionless face hardened. It was terrifying to see how much hatred played across his face. "He was cheating on Naruto their whole relationship, and he never told Naruto. In fact, he only broke up with him because, first, Naruto didn't want to do long distance, and second, he couldn't deal with the guilt."

"We only learned later what he was doing," Shikamaru said bitterly.

Sasuke was wholly outraged that someone could use and then throw away a beautiful thing like Naruto. It was strange; now, he wanted to protect Naruto from getting hurt, and not just so Sasuke could court him.

"I'm killing that bastard," Sasuke snarled. "You can count on it."

Gaara and Shikamaru nodded, then slunk away.

Sasuke put his face in his hand for a moment, sighing, before stepping away from the wall and almost bowling a much shorter body over.

"Hello," Sasuke said with a rare smile, kneeling down in front of the boy. "What are you doing here, Konohamaru?"

"Itachi-niichan said I could go with my dad-I mean, Naruto." Konohamaru stared up at Sasuke with large, baleful eyes. "You aren't going to let that man take away my uncle, are you?"

Sasuke glanced in Naruto's direction, trying desperately to control the hot floods of jealousy through his veins. "You mean Sai?"

Konohamaru nodded, his eyes downcast.

"Did he do something to you?" Sasuke asked, concerned.

"No." Konohamaru sniffled. "I just…don't like him. I think he would be much, much happier with you!" The boy's chubby face brightened as he spoke.

Sasuke gave him another smile, making Konohamaru blush as his hair was ruffled in a much gentler manner than Naruto usually did. "You can count on it," Sasuke repeated, smirking. And Itachi wondered why he loved kids so much.

"Heya, Squirt!" Sasuke looked up to see a grinning Naruto lift up Konohamaru, setting him on his broad shoulders. "Hey, Sasuke."

"Hn," Sasuke replied, glad to see that Sai had finally slunk away from the blonde.

"Sit with me on the plane?" Naruto asked hopefully, making puppy eyes that Sasuke cursed himself for being so susceptible to.

"Sure," Sasuke grumbled, looking away to hide his pleasure at the request.

"Aye, I'm sure you'll be asking to do a lot more than just sit with him later on," Konohamaru muttered.

"KONOHAMARU!"

* * *

Seven hours later, Sasuke was shaking Naruto to wake him up, the fluffy hair tickling his chin as Naruto's head on his shoulder made his skin tingle.

"Wake up, dobe."

"Couple more hours," Naruto mumbled, burying his face deeper into Sasuke's neck as his arms drew Sasuke's body closer.

Konohamaru, who had been sleeping peacefully next to Naruto in the same fashion as Naruto now dozed on Sasuke, woke up at the loss of the warmth of Naruto's arms around him. Upon seeing Sasuke furiously trying to get Naruto off of him, while Naruto clung on ever tighter, he only snickered and stretched.

"Dobe, we're here! You have to wake up!" Sasuke wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. With Naruto's body draped over his, it wouldn't be long until his face exploded from all the blood rushing to his cheeks.

"We're here?" Naruto's head shot up in a blur, accidentally hitting Sasuke in the jaw from the force. "Oh, sorry, teme-Oh god, we're here!" Naruto wailed. He grabbed Konohamaru, kissing his cheeks fervently and blabbering nonsensically. "Ko-chan, don't be afraid of the big green beast, okay? Just do whatever you're told and maybe he'll leave you alone, and also steer clear of Anko, because she's crazy! CRAZY!" Naruto shouted, shaking Konohamaru's shoulders and dazing him, then pulling him close and sobbing into Konohamaru's shoulder. "Oh, Konohamaru, I never wanted come here ever again! Last time with Tsunade was absolutely horrible!"

Sasuke shook his head, standing up and reaching into their compartment to get their luggage. "Dobe, stop whining and carry your own stuff."

"Aye aye, captain!" Naruto stood at the speed of light, a ridiculous grin on his face while Konohamaru was still standing there. Sasuke could practically see the swirls forming on the poor boy's eyes.

"Did you have ramen?" Sasuke asked suspiciously as Naruto leapfrogged him in order to get to their luggage.

"Yes, yes! Yes I did! And it was delicious!" Naruto yipped, grabbing his bag and narrowly missing hitting Sasuke.

"Better work it off before you get to Gai, or else he's gonna take advantage of your excitement," Sasuke muttered.

Just like that, the smile melted off of Naruto's face, leaving the blonde with a somewhat dumbfounded and gloomy expression, as if his pet had just died. "We're in Gai's territory. Shit."

With Naruto constantly switching between moods, Sasuke, Konohamaru, and the blonde finally managed to meet up with the rest of their group, Itachi leading them down the sandy beach to where Gai was waiting to welcome them. Unfortunately, as soon as they stepped off the plane, Sai had whisked Naruto away, and they now walked together, holding hands and smiling.

As Gai came into sight, with all of his green spandex glory, Naruto paled and shrunk away, clinging to Sai. "Oh no, oh no, he's here!"

"WELCOME, MY FRIENDS, TO THE ISLES OF YOUTH!" Gai screamed, tossing flowers like confetti onto the party. "MAY YOUR YOUTH BE REJUVENATED AND STRENGTHENED DURING YOUR STAY!"

"Hide me!" Naruto whispered in a strangled voice, but Gai had surprisingly sharp hearing.

"NARUTO-KUN!" he boomed, grabbing Naruto into one of the tightest hugs he'd ever experienced. "I HAVE MISSED YOUR YOUTH!"

"Uh, yeah!" Naruto laughed nervously, backing away slowly. "Yeah, it's good to see you too, pops!"

"LEE!" Gai shouted, already turned away from Naruto.

"GAI-SENSEI!" came the responding scream.

"Oh, that's just not right," Konohamaru groaned, shielding his eyes as the two men shed tears upon seeing each other.

Before they could even blink, the blur of green had already sped up to one of their other workers.

"KAKASHI, MY OLD RIVAL!" Kakashi was quite literally ripped from Iruka's side, hoisted onto Gai's back in a piggy back style. This time, Naruto covered both his and Konohamaru's eyes.

"COME, MY FRIENDS! WE MUST BASK IN OUR YOUTH AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee screamed in approval, tears pouring down his face as he took off after his former teacher. Shaking their heads, the rest of the team followed.

They ran across the beach and across a large boulevard before Gai finally stopped, opening the door to a large, white marble building, ushering them into the cool air conditioned hotel. Inside, there was another sea of familiar faces to greet them.

"Weasel-san! Dolphin-san!" A man with long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail greeted them. "It's good to see you again!" He went down the line, placing leis around all of their necks. When he got to Naruto, he threw down the leis and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Kinpatsu! Where have you _been?"_

Naruto laughed, patting the man on the back. "Good to see you too, Deidara." He winced a bit. "Watch the ribs, Bombshell."

Deidara laughed, pulling away as he threw a lei over Konohamaru's head, then continued down the line.

Naruto continued walking, Konohamaru shedding flower petals into his eyes. A horde of the Akatsuki, staff of Gai's island, greeted them like old friends. Shouts of "Hey, Kinpatsu!" "It's the fox-boy!" and "Kinpatsu-chaaaan!" rang in his ears, Naruto shouting back awkwardly in greeting.

When they had finally gotten through the horde, and it was just Naruto and Konohamaru, Sasuke barging out of the crowd a second later with murder in his eyes and a flowery pink lei hanging haphazardly off of one of his ears, Naruto smiled a weary smile. "Heh, how's our favorite princess doing?"

Sasuke only glared. "You know the drill."

"Indeed." Naruto pushed the button on the elevator, wincing as a screechy grinding sound came from the closed doors. "We seem to have extraordinarily bad luck when it comes to elevators, huh?"

Sasuke only sighed, carding through his hair with his fingers. "It's all part of the drill, dobe."

* * *

**A/N: **Eheh, I got sorta lazy toward the end. No matter, though! The next chapter's almost ready for you! Sarge, out!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **I'm ramen-high, and I love you guys.

**Disclaimer: **Kibby's mine.

**Chapter Twelve**

If you were a passerby walking past the doors of the bronze elevator doors in the hotel, you would have witnessed a very strange sight indeed. It would most likely take the form of a black, red, and brown streak zooming toward an unsuspecting blonde man, bowling over him until they rolled behind a potted plant in the corner of the room, hoping that you would just leave and refrain from investigating.

"What were you thinking?!" Kiba asked, shaking Naruto slightly by the collar, the leaves rustling slightly from the low hanging plant behind them.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked lightly.

"You know what I mean!" Kiba hissed. "Getting back together with your ex!"

"Is that really so uncommon?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Um, yes! Especially when you just ripped Sasuke to pieces on the inside!" This was a lie, as Kiba knew. Sasuke was far from heartbroken; in fact, it only seemed to spur on his advances on Naruto. But, Kiba thought it safest to play the guilt card in this game.

"He-what?" Naruto's expression changed from deadly calm to a miserably confused pout. "I thought this was all some unrequited shit!"

"No, you-" Kiba wanted to bury his face in his hands, overwhelmed by the sheer ignorance the blonde radiated. "You fucking idiot! Can you not _see_ the way Sasuke looks at you?!"

"Well, most of the time he just looks like he wants to torture me slowly over a fire," Naruto replied uneasily.

Kiba stared at Naruto, dumbfounded. "You really are a dobe, aren't you."

"Hey!" Naruto hissed, dropping his voice as footsteps echoed through the floor. "I only got back with Sai because I was…I don't know, confused. And scared, of being rejected."

"Are you happy with Sai?" Kiba asked, sighing.

Naruto thought for a moment. Was he really happy with Sai? He thought back, to all the moments he'd been undeniably happy with him, and back to all the suspiciousness oozing off the man in waves of something that smelled undoubtedly like perfume back in college. Naruto hadn't been oblivious to Sai's double life; he'd wanted to give the man a chance to redeem himself. Sai hadn't, however, continually sneaking out and hiding behind a façade of sweet words and phrases, and in his head, the side that opted for Sai's forgiveness far outweighed the side that told him to forget about the man. Now, Naruto was certain that he still loved Sai as much as he had when they were only friends. Could he really be happy with Sai? While his brain offered a timid "Yes," his heart screamed out a defiant "_No."_ Naruto sat cross legged, holding his head in his hands. If he couldn't be happy with Sai, then who could he be happy with?

Almost instantaneously, his mind was filled with a myriad of images, all depicting the same thing. Raven hair that was spiked at the back, pale skin, inky black eyes that seemed to have no bottom when you stared into their depths. Unbidden, an image swam to the forefront of his thoughts: Sasuke and himself, each holding one of Konohamaru's hands as they walked along, his nephew's face split in that cheerful, shy little smile he always wore around Sasuke.

"Oh, no." Naruto mumbled, looking up at Kiba through his fingers, who had been sitting patiently waiting for Naruto to come to his senses. "I really fucked up big time, huh?"

"Eh, not really," Kiba smiled. "You've still got time. I think the biggest thing is how Sai's gonna react to your breakup after only two days of going out again."

"He's got plenty of experience with that," Naruto muttered darkly. "How do I tell him?"

Kiba thought for a moment. "Oh, you know. Tell him something like, 'Hey, Sai, babe! Just wanted to letcha know, I've kinda fallen for my boss, so if you just kick your sorry ass into a shark pit, save me the trouble of doing so myself, that would be greatly appreciated.' Then, just throw him a good old two fingered salute, tell him that you love him one last time, psych your previous statement, and you're good!"

Naruto stared at Kiba for a long while before shaking his hea d slowly, a smile spreading across his features. "You know, you might give the most useless advice I've ever heard, but I love you for that."

Kiba grinned a silly grin. "That's why I'm here, buddy."

Naruto's smile grew even wider, before it vanished abruptly and Naruto began sweating, his tan skin turning slightly ashen. "What the hell am I gonna say to Sasuke?!"

"Oh, you know, the usual," Kiba replied casually. "Sasuke-kun," he fluttered his eyelashes and made smacking noises with his lips, "I've loved you for my entire life, and I just _know_ we were made for each other! In fact, why don't we head up to your bedroom, where you can proceed to throw me on the bed and ravish me silly, pounding me into the mattress until I'm raw and scream-HOLY SHIT!" Kiba leaned forward and pounded Naruto's back, the blonde coughing and hyperventilating even harder. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Just breathe! In, out, in, out! You need mouth to mouth?!"

Kiba began to lean in closer to Naruto's mouth, his lips a hair away from Naruto's own when the elevator door opened right next to their hiding place, Sasuke stepping out and staring at Kiba with a blank expression.

"Why do I always have the worst timing?" Kiba moaned helplessly, almost breaking his neck with the speed that he moved away from Naruto. A blank stare could only mean one thing from Sasuke: certain death.

"What were you doing to him?" Sasuke hissed in a venomous tone.

Kiba gulped. "Nothing, I swear! Just helping him with some advice is all!"

"Kissing advice?" Sasuke's eyes flashed angrily.

"No, I swear it was nothing! He was just choking, and-Naruto, breathe, okay?!" Kiba shouted desperately, the poor blonde still hyperventilating in the corner.

"What's wrong with him?" Sasuke asked, the anger in his eyes replaced by genuine concern. _That_ definitely wasn't something you saw on a cold hearted Uchiha's face every day.

"He's getting flustered just thinking of what you'll do to him in bed," Kiba smirked. Sasuke turned pink, and unfortunately for Kiba, Naruto got his breathing under control at that very moment.

"As if, jackass!" Naruto yelled crossly, swinging his arm in a semicircle and cuffing Kiba's ear.

"Ow!" Kiba groaned "Watch the ears, man! They're sensitive!"

Naruto only snorted in derision and got to his feet, stepping out from behind the potted plants and heading for the main entrance to the hotel.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sasuke asked, following close behind.

"Fresh air." Naruto replied shortly, pushing the door open and slipping into the cool ocean breeze. It was a beautiful view, with the moon reflecting on the water's surface.

"You sure you're alright?" Sasuke slipped through the door's gap along with Naruto, the close proximity between the two men making Naruto shiver for an instant.

"Yeah. You wanna come along?" Naruto asked, realizing he'd been rather cold toward Sasuke this whole night.

They walked along the beach together, silent. Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who tried to initiate the first sparks of conversation between the two.

"So…as a matter of curiosity, what were you and Kiba doing?" Sasuke inquired.

Naruto flushed a red so bright it was visible even by the dim moonlight. "It was nothing."

Sasuke, who'd been watching the red spread rapidly across Naruto's face, smirked. "Nothing, of course."

"Shut up, teme."

They walked a bit further, until Naruto suddenly sat down in the sand. "Oi, teme," he sighed. "I don't know what to do."

"Neither do I, unless you tell me about it," Sasuke replied mockingly, sitting down beside Naruto, their thighs brushing against each other."

"I don't know what to do about Sai." Naruto groaned.

"What about Sai?" Sasuke asked, trying to keep himself from growling at the man's name.

"I don't want to be with him anymore."

"_What?_" Sasuke wasn't sure he'd heard right. There he'd been, praying in his room that somehow, Naruto would realize that Sasuke was the only one for him, and here it was all coming true. "Are you sure?" He asked uncertainly, wanting to make sure that this all wasn't a joke.

"I don't think I could be happy with him anymore," Naruto replied, staring at the horizon. "Besides, I…I guess I'm already in love with someone else."

Sasuke smirked. "Might I ask who?"

"No, you may not."

Sasuke leaned back on his forearms, elbows digging into the sand. "So, what'll you do about Sai?"

"I don't know." Naruto looked away for a moment. "I'll have to break it to him sooner or later. Why not tonight?"

"You know, you can take your time with it."

"No, I can't." Naruto's voice was determined. "I'm going to break up with him, and then I'm going to tell the person that I'm in love with them. I _have_ to." Even now, Naruto's voice sounded uncertain.

Sasuke looked away from Naruto's beautiful face, instead fixing his eyes on the sky. He didn't know how to respond to that; he only desperately wished that he could be the one Naruto was talking about with such reverence in his eyes.

They sat there for a while, neither noticing that in that time, they had moved so close together that their heads rested against each other lightly. Their spell was broken, however, when the sudden deep vibrations of the explosions of fireworks rang across the beach, the thing whistling into the air, leaving a trail of hot pink sparkles crackling behind it. Followed by other sparkles, the whole sky lit up with the giant explosion, and Sasuke had to sit back and admire it.

Of course, until he realized that the fireworks actually spelled out words: 'Sasuke And Naruto Should Bang.'

"WHERE THE HELL IS DEIDARA?!"

* * *

Sai frowned, seeing Naruto duck away under the arms of Kiba, Gaara, and Shikamaru once more as soon as Sai tried to approach. The blonde was _definitely_ avoiding him. Ever since they had met up and had started on their way to the beach, the girls heading to the private spa, the blonde had weaved his way around passing crowds of people or busied himself in conversation with his other friends. Naruto seemed unusually nervous and pale today, his eyes constantly shifting, and whenever Naruto caught sight of Sai he started a bit, then quickly walked in the opposite direction. It was a very odd thing for someone as outgoing as the blonde to do, and Sai wondered what he could have possibly done to torment the blonde like this.

Kiba, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Naruto seemed to be arguing. Naruto had clasped his hands together, the expression on his face pleading, while the others seemed to berate him for something and then walked off, leaving Naruto looking hopelessly lost and confused. Now that he was alone, Sai decided to approach him once more in hopes that Naruto would not flee.

Naruto stood helplessly, his mind battling over what to say to Sai. Should he tell Sai that he didn't love him anymore, or was that too blunt? Should he be direct, or should be build up? He didn't know what to do, and it sure didn't help him when Sai materialized in front of him, scaring the blonde half out of his wits.

"Hey, Naruto."

"AH-oh, hey, Sai." Naruto smiled nervously at the taller man.

"What's wrong?" Sai asked, wrapping an arm around Naruto's shoulders and leaning down to his ear. "You've been avoiding me."

Naruto wanted nothing more than to step away, but he didn't want to hurt Sai's feelings. Of course, it most likely wouldn't have mattered anyway, since what he was going to say next would be far more hurtful.

"Sai, I think we need to talk."

Sai could feel nervousness building up in his stomach. It never fared well when Naruto said that line. "Yes?"

Naruto motioned him under the shade of a large palm tree, giving them some privacy.

"Uh…" Naruto began, clearing his throat. He was nervous beyond belief, but a part of him screamed to just get it over with. "I don't think this is going to work." Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief at finally dropping the heavy burden he'd carried on his shoulders for almost three days.

"What?" Whatever Sai had expected, it certainly wasn't this. "What do you mean? It could be just like old times, we could be happy together."

"Maybe we could have been, back in college. Now, I can't see a future with you." Naruto hated seeing the torn expression on Sai's face.

Sai couldn't believe his ears. "Why not?" he protested.

"Sai, I'm not totally oblivious," Naruto replied, his face dead serious. "I knew you were sneaking around behind my back the entire time, and I let it go, because I wanted to give you a second chance, because I thought I really was in love with you. Now, I don't feel anything except for friendship for you."

"Naruto, that was years ago! I admit that I was stupid, but can't you give me a second chance this time?"

Naruto's face hardened for a split second before changing back into his expression of sorrow. "No. I think I've already found the one I've been looking for, and it isn't you."

"Is it Sasuke?" Sai growled, though he tried to keep his voice neutral.

"I don't kn-" Naruto paused for a second, before correcting himself. "Yeah. Yeah, it's him."

"Alright." Sai had heard enough. Though he harbored no negative feelings toward Naruto, and never could harbor any, the thought of the blonde being taken away by Sasuke was pushing his limits. Blinking his oddly stinging eyes a few times, he smiled as best as he could down to Naruto. "I hope you two are happy together," he said as cheerfully as he could, ruffling Naruto's messy bedhead.

"You betcha," Naruto grinned in response. They stood smiling together for a moment, before Naruto's grin faded and he leaned forward slightly, his lips meeting Sai's.

Sai's eyes widened, but only for a moment before he closed his eyes as well, savoring the last tastes of Naruto he would ever get. All too soon, when Sai was just about to pull Naruto closer like he always did in the past, Naruto pulled away, his eyes a bit sad.

"Thanks, Sai. I love you," he smiled, sending butterflies down into the pit of Sai's stomach, before digging his thumbs into the pockets of his hoodie and walking off toward the glittering blue expanse of water. Sai had etched a smile on his face at the familiar words, but he knew that they no longer held the same meaning as they had four years ago. With one last glance at Naruto's retreating form, Sai blinked back the last couple of tears that threatened to spill from his eyes, and walked in the opposite direction, back to the hotel.

* * *

"Goddammit." Naruto mumbled as he collapsed in the sand next to Kiba, the others playing a loud, rowdy game of volleyball, spraying sand onto his stomach.

"Did you tell him yet, Foxface?" Kiba asked, his voice still a bit hard edged from his earlier irritancy at Naruto.

"Yes, and it was absolutely terrible, and now I feel horrible." Naruto grumbled back, thinking back to how truly heartbroken Sai had looked.

"Oh, thank the heavens!" Kiba proclaimed loudly, rolling on top of Naruto and giving him a huge hug before rolling back to his initial position. "Now you just have to tell Sasuke how you feel about him, and then everything will be just perfect!"

"Heh," Naruto scoffed. "It's not that easy, Kiba. How the hell am I supposed to tell the damn teme?"

"Like I told you earlier," Kiba waved at Shikamaru as he approached, sweat glinting on his forehead as he fell onto the sand beside Kiba.

"Che, there aren't even any clouds in the sky," Shikamaru complained. "What a pain."

"I'm not going to demand him to fuck me silly, Kiba!" Naruto argued, his blonde eyebrows furrowing.

"Who's going to do that?"

"GAH!" Naruto screamed and flailed into Kiba as Sasuke sat down next to him, accidentally elbowing the brunette in the stomach. "Kiba, I'm sorry!" Naruto wailed as Kiba doubled over, gasping and clutching at his stomach painfully. He cast a disgusted glance to his surroundings and stood abruptly, spraying sand into Shikamaru's mouth as he yawned, causing the man to choke. "Oh, no, I'm sorry! You know what? I'm going to spend the rest of my day with Konohamaru!" Naruto fumed, turning on his heel and marching off the beach, Sasuke's dark chuckles audible to even Naruto. "Shut up, teme!"

* * *

"Hey, Squirt!" Naruto greeted, spotting the boy curled up on Naruto's bed, reading a book that looked suspiciously like one of Jiraiya's porn titles. "Whatcha reading there?"

"So," Konohamaru didn't even bother to look up from the text, "Did you and Sasuke-nii have sex yet-"

"Not you too!" Naruto cried, ripping the book from Konohamaru's grasp and smacking the boy round the head with it before throwing in the fire crackling merrily in the fireplace.

"Well, someone's sexually frustrated. Just get him to lay you-OW! Okay! I'm sorry!" Konohamaru dodged another flying shoe and raced out of the room, cackling merrily.

"Get back here, you little rascal!"

* * *

**A/N: **I have a shit ton of homework. I'm sorry to say this, but I'm going to have stop writing for tonight. D: *secretly pulls out notebook and begins writing a lemon that will be uploaded later in the week* See ya, troops!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: ***dodges eggs* I know, I know! I've been slacking…D:

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Warnings: **The cussing in this chapter is slightly stronger than what I usually post. Just be mindful of that C:

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Put me down! I refuse, I'm telling you!"

Sasuke grunted in annoyance, pulling on Naruto's legs and trying to dislodge his hands from the doorframe of their hotel room. "Dobe, we're going to be late!"

"No! I'm not going, that lady is bat shit!" Naruto half sobbed, digging his fingernails into the polished wood.

Sasuke sighed and let go of Naruto's legs, the blonde falling to the floor in a heap before jumping back up, brushing himself off as a triumphant grin cracked his face in two.

"Heh, not as tough as you look are you?" he smirked insolently. "Wait…what what are you doing?" The smile dropped from his lips as Sasuke advanced on him, making their height differences ever so noticeable. "What do you-" Naruto yelped as Sasuke knelt down in front of him, pressed his shoulder into Naruto's waist-

And stood, completely lifting the blonde off the ground until he was hanging loosely, stunned, over Sasuke's shoulder.

"Put me down!" Naruto yowled, battering the back of Sasuke's head. Sasuke only smirked and shifted Naruto into a more comfortable position on his shoulder. "Teme!"

Naruto's piercing screeches echoed off the walls of the hallway, Tenten and Chouji poking their heads out of their own rooms in curiosity, before the strange sight before their eyes had them rushing out to join the parade, laughing maniacally at Naruto's distress.

By the time they had reached their destination, the building next to the hotel, their entire team was trailing behind Sasuke, and Naruto's voice had grown quite hoarse as a result of his incessant shouting.

"ATTENTION!" A loud, awfully familiar voice rang out, reminding Naruto of a military-style Tsunade.

Sasuke chose to, at that moment, roughly deposit Naruto at the feet of the woman, Naruto hitting the ground with a loud thump and an "Oof."

Naruto sat up, crossing his legs as he held his head painfully. "Damn bastard, think you could've been a little gentler with me?!" He glared up-and met warm, chocolate colored eyes instead of Sasuke's glittering black ones. The woman stared sternly, before her mouth melted into a smile.

"Uzumaki Naruto, eh?" She laughed, pulling him up roughly by his hand. "I remember you. You were just a little guy then. Actually," she looked over him, smirking. "You still are."

"Shut it, Anko," Naruto muttered nervously with shifting eyes darting from side to side.

"Excuse me?" She leaned toward him, forcing Naruto to look at her. "Maybe I'll do that prank again sometime, the one with the snakes in your-"

"NO!" Naruto backed away quickly. "I'm sorry, ma'am!"

"That's more like it," Anko grinned, roughly mussing Naruto's blonde locks so that the spikes stood at even odder angles before dismissing him.

"Crazy fucking snake-lady," Naruto muttered, rubbing his tailbone as he limped to Kiba's side. "I never wanted to see her again."

Kiba laughed. "Oh, come on. How bad can she be?"

"Listen up!" Anko called before Naruto could respond. "Itachi has asked me to introduce you to the hot springs. You all will follow me, and you will have the rest of the day to relax. Be warned,"she directed her words at Naruto especially, making him turn white as a sheet, "If you wander off, the place is _filled _with poisonous snakes and they _will_ kill you. Also, swim trunks _are_ required." She looked sternly at Kakashi and Iruka. "If I find any of you having sexy time in our springs, well then…" she licked her lips, a hungry look in her eyes as she gripped something pressing against the fabric of her tan coat pocket that looked suspiciously like the outline of a knife.

Naruto gulped, barely feeling Kiba's nudge. "Ah…I think she might just be as bad as you said."

"No fucking shit, man."

* * *

After a short and to the point tour around the hot springs located at the back of the building, the team was rendered shaking and wide eyed. Though her eyes and her smile were kind, she could prove to be a bloodthirsty, sadistic thing when she wanted to.

"You were right." Kiba intoned hollowly as he jumped into the spring next to Naruto. "She was worse than you said."

Naruto shook his hair out of his eyes, only to have the water from Kiba's jump splash it back into his eyes. "Che, you should know by now that Uzumaki Naruto is always right."

"That little catchphrase you have got you in exactly one hundred sixty two afternoons of detention in high school," Shikamaru said boredly as he lowered himself into the pool next to Naruto.

"_Only_," Naruto grinned, slapping his friend on the back.

Shikamaru looked over with a slight amused glint in his slanted eyes. "One hundred sixty two afternoons in the first one hundred sixty two days of our freshman year."

"Cheeky little thing, he was," Gaara padded to the spring silently, his words making Naruto scrunch up his nose.

"Kiba, don't listen to them," he sniffed, covering Kiba's ears as he turned away from Gaara and Shikamaru.

Kiba furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance, though his lips still curled in his trademark feral grin. "Ever heard of personal space, Foxface?" he swatted Naruto's hands away.

"There's no such thing as personal space when you're Uzumaki Naruto's friend, Dogbreath," Naruto bragged, before wrapping his arms around Kiba's shoulder in an awkward side hug.

"It must be awful, being condemned to being your friend," Kiba said mockingly, turning his face to the side to avoid Naruto's hair tickling his nose. "HOLY SHIT!" His eyes nearly popped out of his eyes as he came nose to nose with Sasuke, the man looking about five times more murderous than Kiba thought possible. Quickly, he grabbed Naruto's arms and shoved Naruto around his body and toward Sasuke, Naruto spluttering as waves of water entered his mouth.

"Goddamn it, Kiba!" Naruto growled, now wedged against the rough stone walls of the pools tightly between Sasuke and Kiba. "And you quit laughing," he scolded the snickering Chouji and Lee, who passed their spring and instead headed to one of the smaller ones to the side.

Sasuke was just as indignant as Naruto, for when Kiba had pushed Naruto toward him, Naruto had slammed right into Sasuke's lap. And now, as Naruto was pressed against him, shifting from side to side as he bobbed up and down from the water's movement, Naruto's backside was currently giving certain areas in his lap some _very_ unwanted friction. Sasuke cursed as he felt heat pooling into his lower abdomen, unable to control himself with Naruto's body so close to his. Taking in short, shallow breaths, he shot an angry look at the quivering Kiba, sure that his face was beyond red.

"What are you looking at?" Naruto asked curiously, seeing Kiba's face turn from white to a brilliant shade of green. He followed his gaze, and saw Sasuke staring straight back at Naruto. "Um, excuse me? When did you get here?" Naruto asked. He didn't even notice Sasuke at all.

"Hn, if you weren't such a dobe, maybe you would have noticed," Sasuke replied monotonously, trying desperately to control the raging fires racing through his body and the electric jolts he received every time Naruto's leg brushed against his.

"I can tell you're in a bad mood already," Naruto slouched grumpily. "Oi, move _over,_ will ya? I'm fucking pressed against you, in case you haven't noticed."

_Oh, I've noticed, alright,_ Sasuke thought bitterly as he created a few inches of distance from Naruto, almost sighing with relief as the fires began to cool.

"Thought that personal space didn't matter if you're a friend of Uzumaki Naruto?" Kiba teased, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Well," Naruto started uncomfortably, "Sasuke's different." He tried desperately to ignore the smirks and whispers between Gaara and Shikamaru, as well as the darkening aura that came from the general direction of where Sasuke was situated.

"Oh? How so?" Inwardly, Kiba was rolling on the ground, laughing at the deer-in-the-headlights expression Naruto wore on his face, his mouth slightly open as he tried to think of a response.

"I-Sasuke's special!" Naruto brightened, throwing his arm around Sasuke's neck and pulling him close so that their faces brushed against each other. "He gets special treatment, since he hates everyone!"

"Dobe, I don't hate everyone," Sasuke muttered, ducking under Naruto's encircling arm and turning away to hide his reddening cheeks.

"Oh, yeah," Naruto looked skeptical, "Name one person who you don't hate."

It was Naruto's turn to laugh at the blank expression on Sasuke's face as he struggled to answer.

"I-" Sasuke was thinking desperately of all of his coworkers, his friends; begging for anyone to come to mind except for that annoyingly gorgeous tan face framed by the silky spikes of woven sunshine. "Naru-Naruko. I don't hate my friend Naruko."

Naruto only waggled his eyebrows. "Naruko, huh? Sounds suspiciously similar to your favorite coworker," Naruto said playfully, "Sure you don't mean, oh, I don't know, me?" Naruto flashed Sasuke a winner's grin, making even Sasuke's ice cold heart melt.

"Hn."

"That was hardly an answer!"

"ALRIGHT, YOU RASCALS!" Anko's voice boomed, making Naruto practically inhale half of the spring's water as he gasped. "YOU'RE EATING DINNER WITH US!"

"Holy shit!" Naruto choked, coming up with hiccups as Kiba pounded harshly on his back. "That woman scares the fuck outta me!"

* * *

Naruto kept a shaking grip on Sasuke's sleeve the entire dinner, keeping his eyes trained on Gai, Anko, and the Akatsuki as he unsteadily spooned his ramen into his mouth. He was tense, as if expecting any of the resort's staff to leap suddenly at him like a hungry wolf.

"Planning on letting go of me anytime soon?" Sasuke hissed, though he was really smirking in pleasure at Naruto's adorable dependency on him.

"No," Naruto whispered, his blue eyes terrified. "They're going to eat me alive, I swear."

Sasuke shook his head and continued eating his food, almost choking as he felt Naruto press flush against him as Gai stood to get more food. The whole room was alive with loud chatter, and undoubtedly already most of it was about Naruto and Sasuke, if the not so discreet glances at the pair told him anything.

"Get off," Sasuke had never blushed this much in his whole life combined. Though, after all, it had only been a few weeks since he'd discovered he was, in fact, not asexual.

"He's coming for me," Naruto whispered fearfully.

Sasuke gave Naruto a gentle push, though the blonde still went sprawling onto the shoulder of Gaara. "You're being a dobe."

"And you're being a bastard." Naruto looked back to see where Gai was-and was scared out of his wits to find the man striding toward him, a huge smile on his face as his eyes twinkled at Naruto.

"NO!" Naruto flew from his seat to escape Gai, who only began chuckling and chasing after Naruto.

"LET US BOTH EXERT OUR YOUTH TOGETHER, NARUTO-KUN!"

"NOOOOOO!" Naruto cried, scampering around the room at a speed that would have even made the Raikage proud.

The rest of the night passed quickly, with Naruto and Gai yelling loudly as they chased one another around the large dinner table, Naruto occasionally stopping next to Sasuke to get a quick drink of water or a bite of his beloved ramen before taking off again, while Gai practically skipped along, his energy seemingly boundless.

The second Sasuke had devoured the last bite of food left on his plate, Naruto materialized next to him, almost as well as his brother used to sneak up on him.

"You're done?!" the blonde babbled hyperactively. "Good, you're done! I'm so glad you're done! You can follow me now, up the elevator and into our nice, cozy, _secluded_ room!" Sasuke blushed at the visions those words conjured in his mind. "Come on, now!" Naruto continued, his eyes growing wider by the millisecond as Gai skipped closer and closer.

"Alright," Sasuke tried to sound annoyed, but before he could even stand Naruto had taken him by the arm and was dragging him to the elevator, pushing the button to go up at a rate that made the button begin to spark and fizzle.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Naruto hissed, jumping up and down and looking as if he really needed to go to the bathroom. A second later, the metallic screeching noises that were all too familiar to Naruto and Sasuke sounded from behind closed doors.

"Dammit! _Now, _of all times?!" Naruto cried before whisking Sasuke away again, this time up the many flights of stairs until they were running down the carpeted hall to their room, throwing the door open and slamming it shut.

Once inside, Naruto pressed his back against the wall, panting harshly, his legs shaking. "That was close." The lights weren't on, giving everything a bluish-orange tint from the sunset just beyond the windows.

"No, it wasn't," Sasuke retorted. He was certain that his feet never touched the floor as Naruto dragged him around like a rag doll with wheels at the speed of light. "Gai stopped chasing us a _long_ time ago.

"What?!" Naruto wheezed, looking up at Sasuke with eyes hooded from exhaustion, his red lips slick and shiny from his thirsty licking at them. "Think ya could have maybe told me sooner, dipshit?!"

Sasuke would have replied with his usually snarky retorts, but seeing Naruto leaning against the door in his vulnerable position, his red lips glistening, his bedroom eyes and his shirt untucked and partially unbuttoned made it especially hard for him to concentrate on anything but the exposed parts of Naruto's chest and his lips. "Aungh." He tried to speak, but all that came out was a hoarse choking noise.

Naruto stared at him a while longer. "That was…eloquent." He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, biting, Sasuke's eyes following every movement his mouth made. "Think you could stop staring? It's kind of freaky." He gave a shaky laugh, before pushing himself off the wall and around Sasuke. "I think I'm gonna crash now." He flopped onto the bed, not even taking off his clothes.

"Already?" Sasuke glanced at the clock. "It's only seven thirty at night.

"Yeah, well, you weren't the one chased around for two hours by that green spandex youth freak," Naruto yawned, burying his face into the pillow. "G'night, S'uke."

Sasuke smiled a little at the muffled, slurred words. "Good night…Naruto." But the blonde was already fast asleep.

* * *

**A/N: **I swear. Winter break, I SWEAR I will make this slacking off all up to you. Just be patient, deal with my slow updates for one more week. Please? D: But as always, thank you for reading, feedback is always appreciated, and I'm out for tonight. C:


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Apologies for the delay between posts! I just switched offices, so now I have a computer with two monitors. It's awesome, especially for gaming. :3 It's been troublesome, but completely worth it. Also, with note of the holidays, I have an illustration up on my DeviantArt for you guys. Sadly, it's not yaoi-related, but I made it with you guys in mind, so swing by if you care to! Link's gonna be in my bio. You should know, though, I'm definitely not the best artist :P

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Warning: **Influence of alcohol.

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Man," Naruto groaned. "I feel so bad for leaving the Squirt with Gai."

"Come on," Kiba replied lightheartedly as he pushed open the glass door, the pounding vibrations of the music from within the building audible even from outside. "It's good for you to unwind. Gai'll take good care of Konohamaru."

"Good care," Naruto repeated skeptically. "If that means making my poor Ko-chan run around the entire ocean four hundred times, I will personally skin him myself. Besides, the man scares the living shit out of him."

"I doubt it'll be _that_ extreme," Kiba consoled. "Maybe only three hundred laps."

Naruto groaned. "Konohamaru threatened to cut off my fingers on the first day I left him with Gai."

"Maybe he'll spare you and just remove an arm or something. It's been scientifically proven that you can live..er," Kiba rubbed the back of his head, "Somewhat normally without the appendage."

Naruto glared at Kiba out of the corner of his eye before entering the building. "You know, you really are the worst at advice."

"What are friends for?" Kiba grinned and entered behind Naruto. "Say, where are the others?"

"I dunno. Probably already buzzed, we're almost an hour late."

"An _hour?!" _

"Dude, you sleep like a damn rock. How much effort does it take to wake you up in the morning?"

Kiba thought for a moment, grabbing the sleeve of Naruto's loud, orange t-shirt and leading him through the maze of bodies on the dance floor, the blue and purple lights spinning across the walls and making Naruto feel dizzy. "Usually, Hana has to slap me."

"Who's Hana?" Naruto could have sworn he was getting queasy. He was never one for the clubbing life; being in overly crowded rooms made him feel severely claustrophobic.

"Sister. She's a scary one, man. Pretty, but scary." Kiba started to look irritated as they became trapped in the sea of bodies. "Oi, can you all move the fuck out of the way?!"

A few of the dancers shot dirty looks at Kiba before they shifted away. After what seemed like ages, the two were finally at the bar and off the dance floor. Naruto was quite glad, and even more so when he saw all of his friends seated at the bar.

"Heya, teme," he greeted cheerfully, pulling up a stool next to Sasuke, who was fingering the rim of his glass."

"Dobe." Sasuke looked up with the faintest hint of a smirk as Naruto sat down, Kiba sitting on the other side of the blonde. Sasuke looked him and down; no matter how casually he dressed, Naruto always looked like a supermodel. Today, he was dressed in black skinny jeans, black Converse with scribbles and doodles all over them, and an orange shirt with a strange spiral surrounded by symbol on the stomach. It seemed to suit Naruto very well, despite the ridiculous orange hue.

"Uh, Sasuke?" Naruto stared at the raven with a weird look. He had his eyes trained on Naruto's navel, and Naruto could have sworn that _the_ Uchiha Sasuke had been checking him out.

"Hm?" Sasuke pulled his eyes from the spiral to meet Naruto's with great difficulty. You could just barely see the outline of Naruto's muscles from the shirt.

"You're acting weird today," Naruto said suspiciously.

"Hn."

"On second thought, scratch that. You're back to normal now," the blonde huffed before looking past Sasuke and to the familiar faces sitting in a row at the counter. They were all there, their glasses filled with bubbling liquids, except for Lee. He had only orange juice in his glass, though he looked as happy as ever as he conversed with Sai.

"Why isn't Lee having any?" Naruto turned curiously to Kiba.

"Oh, man," a nostalgic look crossed Kiba's face, "Lee's a nightmare with alcohol. Worst tolerance I've ever seen. Just a sip, and we had to drag him back from climbing a tree and jumping into a chimney, screaming that he was Santa Claus. Got us all kicked out," Kiba laughed.

"You shouldn't be talking," Naruto grinned mischievously. "You look like you've got even worse tolerance."

Kiba shut up immediately as the words left Naruto's mouth. "Is that a challenge, Uzumaki?"

Naruto grinned wider. "Hell yeah, Inuzuka.

"You are going _down,_" Kiba flashed Naruto his own roguish grin before slamming his arm down onto the wooden surface of the counter. "Can we get a drink over here?!"

* * *

"I'm gonna beat you," Naruto growled before downing yet another glass, some of the liquid dribbling from the corners of his mouth. He slammed the glass down, calling for another one as Kiba did the same.

"Hell no, you're not," Kiba rasped, beginning to sway a bit on his stool. "Sasuke, if you're gonna sit there and watch us, at least give us some moral support!"

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know how the hell you two idiots got into _our_ company."

Neither heard his comment, as they were too busy choking down another glass, their narrowed eyes focused challengingly on each other the entire time.

* * *

After about thirteen shots, both Kiba and Naruto were drunk out of their minds. Kiba completely passed out after his fourteenth glass, and Naruto held up his empty one victoriously, swaying wildly as he announced, "I beat ya, ya goddamn dogbreath," after which he promptly dropped the glass and fell forward, wrapping his arm around Sasuke's neck as Sasuke instinctively grabbed Naruto's torso to keep him from falling facedown into the table.

"Mmh," Naruto groaned, his blue eyes in slits as he stared up at Sasuke blearily. Sasuke wrinkled his nose at the strong smell of alcohol lacing Naruto's usually sweet breath.

"Dobe, you shouldn't have drunk so much," Sasuke sighed, still supporting Naruto. He didn't mind it too much, though; being a smaller man, Naruto was quite light, and Sasuke could never get enough of that intoxicating scent Naruto smelled of.

"Wharr you talkin' bout, I'm fine," Naruto insisted, grabbing Sasuke's shoulder with his limp hand and gripping his shirt for more support. The room spinning around him, he decided to rest his head a bit on the nearest thing-and that happened to be the crook of Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke stiffened immediately, his heartbeat skyrocketing and his thoughts going haywire. Naruto's blonde hair stroked against his throat with every single movement of Naruto's head, and he could still smell the fresh forest scent of the hotel's shampoo lingering on the spikes. Sasuke cursed under his breath. _He's drunk, he's just drunk,_ Sasuke repeated frantically in his thoughts, trying to ignore the pervert in him whispering that it was the perfect chance to take Naruto and claim him.

"Mmm…you smell good," Naruto sighed sleepily, burying his face further into Sasuke's throat. Sasuke began panting, feeling his blood rush south as he was hyperaware of the soft, velvety lips pressing in to the side of his neck. After a while, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore; he jerked his head back, fearing that he'd do something Naruto would greatly regret if he stayed in that position any longer. _He's drunk! _The rational part of him screamed.

Naruto's head hung loosely for a few seconds at the loss of the support, before he strained to raise it up again. The music was pounding in his eardrums, and yet he couldn't seem to hear it at all through the buzzing in his head. He looked at Sasuke, his eyes opened a bit wider now.

Sasuke hoped that Naruto had sobered up, even if it was just a tiny bit, so that he wouldn't drape his delicious body around Sasuke's anymore. It seemed that luck was against Sasuke this time, however, because the corner of Naruto's mouth curled up into one of the sexiest, most seductive smirks Sasuke had ever seen the blonde give.

"You're really pretty, you know?" Naruto breathed, before closing the few centimeters between his and Sasuke's lips.

Sasuke froze, his eyes wide, as Naruto sloppily shoved his tongue into his mouth. He was aware out of the corner of his eye at his workers staring open mouthed at the pair, but his body wouldn't obey him. Naruto twisted and leaned toward him, the arm that wasn't around Sasuke's shoulder now resting on the raven's jean clad thigh as he deepened the kiss even more, wrapping his tongue around Sasuke's. Sasuke couldn't do anything, the rational and pervert sides of his mind battling with each other as he sat numbly, allowing Naruto to ravage his mouth as he pleased, their mixed saliva coating Sasuke's taste buds.

Eventually, the rational side won out. It wouldn't be right to take advantage of Naruto like this, not when he wasn't in the right state of mind. Sasuke pushed back gently, but firmly, against Naruto's chest, their mouths separating with a wet _pop_ sound.

"Naruto," Sasuke gasped, wiping at his mouth with his sleeve. "We need to get you home."

"Why?" Naruto whined, trying to press his mouth against Sasuke's once more. "I'm happy here."

"You're drunk," Sasuke replied flatly, standing as he clasped Naruto's hand, holding the arm around his shoulders in place. "Let's go."

"Mmmph." Naruto grunted in response, standing as well as he allowed Sasuke to clasp his waist to support him. Seeing as Naruto was so much shorter, his feet barely scraped the ground as he and Sasuke pushed and waded through the crowd, bursting outside and into the fresh air.

Sasuke's shoulder was really paining him at this point, but letting Naruto walk by himself was not an option. Sasuke sighed through his nose and picked up Naruto as though he was a princess. With Naruto's eyes trained on him in the blue-tinted moonlight, neither struggling or protesting against being held like that, Sasuke lifted him effortlessly and set off in the direction of the hotel, holding Naruto as gently as he would a lost puppy.

Sasuke stumbled through the door, shouldering it aside. His arms ached and he longed to fling the weight out of his arms, but forced himself to gently lower Naruto on the bed. As he shook out his tensed, strained muscles, he let out a choked shout as Naruto rolled dangerously close to the edge of the bed in his sleep. Sasuke pinched his nosebridge, sighing for what felt like the hundredth time that night as he pushed Naruto toward the center of the bed, only to have Naruto roll to the edge of the opposite side. Groaning, Sasuke stripped until he was only in his boxers, and climbed in after Naruto.

"Usuratonkachi…" Sasuke breathed as he pulled Naruto to his chest, wrapping his arms around the blonde tightly. It wasn't as though he had any other choice; the dobe would probably fall and break his arm, knowing Naruto.

But as Sasuke couldn't help himself and lowered his chin to sneak a kiss on Naruto's forehead, he knew it was because of something much deeper than just that.

* * *

**A/N: **The story's coming to an end, troops. I'm really sad about that, but I guess it means I can transfer my focus to Worlds Apart! Stay tuned for the finale :D Sarge out!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Uh. I'm running out of things to say….so I just hope you enjoy this!

**Disclaimer: **Kiba. Mine.

**Chapter Fifteen**

Konohamaru eyed his prey through maliciously narrowed eyes, licking his smirking lips. He gathered the tension in his back legs, arching his back, tiptoeing forward noiselessly-and then sprang, roaring out his dominance!

* * *

"Rooooowr!"

"AUGH!"

Naruto shot bolt upright, his cobalt eyes wide and his mouth open in a scream of terror, before falling back and clutching his head, his body curling up in his pain. "Uuungh," he groaned, "I'm gonna die someday if you keep jumping on my stomach like that!"

"Heh, sorry, Niichan!" Konohamaru giggled, jumping away as Naruto turned over onto his chest. "Oi, Niichan, you're gonna suffocate if you sleep like that!"

"Good," Naruto moaned, "Then this hangover will be over sooner."

"You're such a pain," Shikamaru's voice sounded from the doorway, accompanied by Konohamaru's, "Shikamaru-Nii!"

Naruto could hear Shikamaru's footsteps grow louder, rattling through the pain-glazed depths of his head. The sound of his voice was enough to send Naruto's teeth clamping together in an effort to draw his focus away from the pain.

"Konohamaru," the man drawled, "You'd better let your uncle get some rest." Naruto felt the dip in the bed straighten at the loss of Konohamaru's weight.

"Get better soon, Niichan!" Naruto's grunt was muffled by the pillow as he dashed out.

"Come on. Turn over," Shikamaru sat on the edge of the bed.

"How about no," Naruto whined, but he turned over anyway. The things he did for his friends.

"Dumbass," Shikamaru muttered, before Naruto opened his eyes blearily just in time to see a small bottle fly towards his head.

"OOOOW!" Naruto roared, sitting upright and clutching at his feverish head. "Shika, you know I get the worst hangovers," Naruto chastised in a pathetic, cracking voice.

Shikamaru snorted. "That's what aspirin's for. And anyway," he continued as he watched Naruto snatch the bottle from the bed and down a few of the pills rapidly, "We need to talk about something."

"If it has anything to do with your sex life with Temari, I'm not interested-"

"NO!" It was one of the few times that Shikamaru could actually be bothered to become flustered, and Naruto had to crack a grin at the deep pink flush invading Shikamaru's face. "We need to talk about last night."

"Mm?" Naruto asked absentmindedly, downing the glass of water on his bedside table. "Sorry, man, I don't remember any of it." The hangover was thankfully beginning to recede, and Naruto's head was becoming less and less muddled, his senses seemingly working overtime to make up for the temporary drop in activity.

"Nothing at all?" Shikamaru sighed as Naruto pulled off his shirt to change.

"Nope. Noth-" Naruto froze just as he was pulling the shirt over his shoulders, his head hidden in the folds of the fabric while his torso and arms were bared. "Holy shit," Naruto breathed, his voice dampened by the shirt.

"It all coming back to you?" Shikamaru smirked.

Naruto snatched the shirt, pulling it off so violently that Shikamaru was astounded that his head was still intact. "WHY DO I SMELL LIKE _SASUKE_?!" the blonde howled in outrage. The scent was everywhere, now that he was aware of it. Lingering on his sheets, his clothes, even his hair, the musky cologne was unmistakable. Naruto's stomach clenched in fear. He couldn't have…done it? There was no way, was there? But then, why else would the scent be in his bed? Naruto glanced at his pants. It didn't look like the garments had been taken off… was he just being paranoid?

"You didn't have sex, if that's what you're wondering." Shikamaru stated bluntly.

"Jesus, thank you," Naruto sighed as his body relaxed, his heart slowing down from its panicked thumping.

"But you did kiss him."

Naruto gaped.

"In front of our _entire_ team."

His mouth dropped at that.

"And you told Sasuke he was pretty."

Naruto's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell back onto the bed.

"Stop being such a drama queen," Shikamaru smirked.

Naruto covered his eyes with his arm. "I am never going to look the teme in the eye ever again."

Shikamaru let loose a chuckle. "We'll see how well you cope with that. At any rate," Shikamaru's expression grew serious, his mouth becoming a thin line, "You know what this means, right?"

"That I should go drown myself in my own vomit?" Naruto heaved a loud, gusty sigh. "That's what I thought."

"No. Do you remember what you do when you're drunk?"

"Make a damn fool of myself."

"More specific," Shikamaru coaxed.

"What do you want from me?" Naruto whined. "I act like I'm high, I dance with strangers, I kiss people. Your point?"

"Yes. But you don't just kiss strangers, do you?"

Naruto peered at Shikamaru through one eye. "Well…I don't know. I haven't gotten _that_ drunk enough times to tell you."

Shikamaru pressed his thumb to his forehead. "Think about what happens to you when you're not in control of your body."

"I get horny, and I get really emotional at times."

"Honestly, Naruto. Do I really have to spell it out for you?" Shikamaru leaned forward slightly. "Who was the last person you kissed while drunk?"

"I believe the _only_ person I've ever kissed drunk was Sai."

"Exactly; you don't just kiss people, you kiss people you really, _really_ like."

Naruto looked thoughtful as he let the words sink in. "Wait…" he gasped. "You don't think…?"

Shikamaru nodded. "And everyone else thinks so too. This isn't just an infatuation, or just a crush. You're completely in love with Sasuke. I haven't even seen you get that needy with Sai."

"What are you suggesting I do, then?" Naruto's eyes were wide and fearful.

"Tell him that you love him, dumbass."

"But I can't just tell him that out of nowhere! He'll think I'm crazy!" Naruto scrambled out of bed and began throwing on whatever clothes came to hand. "It might be too much for him! What if he doesn't love me back?"

"Are you kidding me? Have you ever _seen_ the way that Sasuke looks at you?" Shikamaru was ready to burst at the blonde's ignorance.

"He looks like he wants to tie me to a bench and torture me until I die slowly," Naruto replied, running into the bathroom.

"I was thinking more along the lines of tying you to a bed and then having his way with you," Shikamaru teased, following Naruto. Naruto whipped around and threw his tube of toothpaste at him. "I was kidding around, Naruto. He looks at you as if the sun and the moon and the stars revolved around you. He just doesn't let you see, and he starts glaring whenever you look at him. You don't see anyone with just a crush, or someone who just wants to get in your pants, looking at anyone else like that. And I've seen the way you look at him as well."

"Me?" Naruto mumbled around the toothpaste foam in his mouth.

"It's almost funny, the way you two stare at each other like the leads in a romance movie and then glare whenever you're face to face. On the other hand," Shikamaru ran a hand over his tied back hair, "We're all getting pretty desperate for you two to both just admit it and get together."

Naruto had slowed his violent brushing during Shikamaru's speech, and now he slowly pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth. "I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Everything." Naruto looked forlornly at Shikamaru's reflection. "This isn't some high school drama anymore. I'm just…I don't know. Whenever I think about it, I feel like I'm going to throw up. I don't know how, when, or where to tell him. What words should I say?" Naruto rinsed his mouth of the minty bubbles, swiping a hand across his mouth when he spat the water out. "I don't want to lose Sasuke, either."

Shikamaru sighed. "You know, you're treating this as if it were a marriage proposal." He grinned faintly as Naruto choked. "There was a reason why Itachi chose to take us all to paradise, you know. He's threatened to keep us here for months if you two didn't admit to each other."

"DEAR LORD, JUST FUCKING _DO IT!" _Kiba's voice echoed from down the hall.

"See?" Shikamaru shoved a thumb over his shoulder. "Even the depraved dog-boy's getting desperate."

Naruto set his hands on either side of the sink and leaned over, staring at the concave reflections in the shiny, white surface, feeling the butterflies swarm into his stomach. Slowly, he straightened. "Alright." Naruto looked Shikamaru in the eye, a small smile on his lips. He extended his hand, the index and middle finger pointing outwards. The smile turned into a full-fledged grin as Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but grudgingly mirrored the action. "I promise that I will tell Sasuke by the end of this week."

"That's today, dumbass."

The butterflies swarmed even more. "Alright, by the end of today, I will tell him how I feel." Naruto's two fingers wrapped around Shikamaru's, just like the two did when they were younger. "And that's a promise I'm gonna keep."

"You'd better." Shikamaru clapped Naruto on the back as he was pulled in for a hug. "Come on, we're going to miss lunch."

"It's that late already?" Naruto moaned. "Look, can we just skip and get up my self-confidence or something? Boost my morale?"

"No, you're not getting out of seeing Sasuke."

"Bastard, you know me too well."

* * *

Sasuke's hand clenched around his fork so hard that the metal began to bend with the force as Naruto, with the aid of Shikamaru, plopped into the seat next to him. If Naruto remembered what he and Sasuke had done last night, Sasuke was already a corpse.

"Goddammit, Shika," he heard Naruto growl before the blonde picked up his fork. Sasuke was determined not to acknowledge, or even look at the blonde. It seemed that Naruto had exactly the same mind of thinking, for Naruto immediately struck up a conversation with Sakura, who was sitting on the other side of him. Sasuke's palms began to sweat. Was it possible that Naruto remembered? Sasuke let out a tiny groan at the thought of it.

"You okay there, teme?" Naruto asked cheerfully, and Sasuke spared him a fleeting glance before looking down at his plate again.

"Fine."

"What's gotten into you today?" But Naruto didn't seem to mind too much at Sasuke's curtness, so he breathed a sigh of relief, straightened his fork, and began to eat normally, the tension erased.

"Geez," Naruto stared at Sasuke's salad. "Like tomatoes much?" The thing was practically all cherry tomatoes."

Sasuke shrugged, smirking. "Guilty pleasure."

"Che," Naruto scoffed, stealing a few and popping them into his mouth. "Nothing beats ramen."

Sasuke snorted. "That unhealthy crap?"

Naruto looked scandalized. "Alright, fine! You keep to your tomatoes, I keep to my beloved ramen!"

As Sasuke gradually calmed down, Naruto became more and more fidgety. He was glad that Sasuke hadn't brought up anything from last night, but the time until his deadline was becoming shorter and shorter. He _still_ had no idea how to approach Sasuke.

"Um…" Naruto willed down the blush threatening to overcome his cheeks. "Sasuke, you wanna go down to the beach with me after dinner?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto with wide eyes, as the rest of their team jerked their heads up at the words. Kiba's expression was just screaming at Naruto to go for it, and Shikamaru and Gaara only had knowing smirks, while everyone else had hopeful expressions.

"A-alone?" Sasuke stuttered.

"Well, it doesn't have to be just us," Naruto laughed awkwardly, his eyes shifting as his hand scratched the back of his head as it always did in situations like these. "Everyone else can come with us-"

"No, it's whatever you want," Sasuke interrupted, fixing his composure.

"Well, I mean, if it makes you uncomfortable, you can invite everyone else."

"It's up to you, since you're the one inviting."

"Teme," Naruto growled, his eyes darkening. "You choose.

"It is up to _you_." Sasuke snarled, his eyes narrowing.

Sakura jumped up from her seat as the two went crashing to the floor, a mess of tangled limbs and growled threats. "Those two…" she muttered. "They'll argue about anything."

Chouji looked up from his food. "What on earth are they doing?" He asked, wincing as Sasuke accidentally knocked over a plate from the table.

"Flirting." Kiba rubbed his temples. "It's obviously their mating dance-OW!" Kiba didn't get any further than that, for Naruto had flung a fork straight at his forehead.

* * *

The rest of the day passed without much incident. The others spent the day lazing around the hot springs or at the spa, while Naruto and Sasuke pointedly avoided each other. The dinner was kept short and simple, with Gai and the Akatsuki joining them, as it would be their last meal on the resort. No sooner had Sasuke and Naruto swallowed the last bites of their food, however, Kiba took it upon himself to stand and grab Naruto and Sasuke by the collars, march the wildly struggling pair across the street, and fling the two onto the sand of the beach, leaving without a second glance.

"Asshole," Naruto muttered under his breath, standing and brushing the sand off of his clothes, Sasuke doing the same.

"So, what did you want?" Sasuke asked.

"Er, uh…" Naruto floundered helplessly for the right words. "Wa-walk with me."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at the blonde's uncharacteristic stumbling of words, but complied nonetheless. They strolled side by side to the ocean's side, the sunset turning the sky a brilliant mix of purple, pink, and orange streaks reflecting off of the water's surface. They stopped once the tide greeted the toes of their shoes, and stood silently for a while.

"So…" Naruto began. "I…uh….erm…" he swallowed.

"Did you drag me all the way down here to make me coach you on your vowel pronunciation?" Sasuke smirked.

"You can be such a pretentious bastard sometimes," Naruto seethed.

"And you're such a dobe. All the time," Sasuke retorted, the smirk growing wider.

"Ugh!" Naruto cried in disgust, pouting. "You just love fucking with me, don't you!"

"…Maybe." Sasuke smiled a bit.

"I hate you." Naruto's pouted even more.

"I know you do."

"You're not making this very easy for me, you know." Sasuke's heart started beating faster at the seriousness hidden in those words.

"Making what very easy? Now isn't the time to get all cryptic with me, dobe."

Naruto sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, turning away with his nose up in the air. "Well…maybe I'm not trying to be cryptic. In fact, maybe I'm trying to tell you something."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at Naruto's back. "And that might be…?"

"That I might like you. A lot." Naruto focused his eyes skyward, hoping that he was doing the right thing. "And that I might possibly love you. Just a little bit."

Sasuke was shocked for a split second. Then, unbidden, a grin rivalling even Naruto's was upon his face at the shy approach Naruto had taken with his confession. "Dobe," he murmured fondly.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut as he heard Sasuke speak, but they flew open as he felt himself being spun around and pulled forward, Sasuke's lips fixating themselves on his. Naruto was trembling, his eyes still wide open. At the close proximity, he could see the veins on Sasuke's eyelids as he struggled to comprehend what was going on. It was as if his mind was detached from the rest of his body, before the reality of it all hit him hard and his eyes slid shut.

Sasuke was doing nothing but moving his lips gently in sync with Naruto's, but that alone was enough to make Naruto's knees turn to jelly. He was now relying solely on Sasuke for support, grasping Sasuke's shirt in his fists as the raven's arms clenched around his waist, binding their bodies together.

Naruto was disappointed as Sasuke pulled away from his mouth, instead hugging Naruto even closer and placing a kiss atop his forehead. "You should have said so earlier." The vibrations of Sasuke's deep timbre of a voice tickled Naruto's scalp.

"Bastard, you should know by now how fucking terrifying you are to approach." Naruto felt Sasuke's lips curl into a smile as he snatched his arms from Naruto's hips.

Naruto stumbled into the beach from the loss of support, gasping and shivering as he jumped up. "Bastard!"

Sasuke was laughing his head off at the sight of a sopping wet Naruto pointing dramatically at him, though he was afraid by the stormy look in Naruto's eyes that he'd taken it too far. But Naruto instead smiled brightly and grabbed his hand.

"You're going down with me, Sasuke!" He yanked hard, and Sasuke toppled over, landing on top of Naruto with a great splash, which only made them laugh harder.

* * *

From inside the hotel, the team smiled as they saw Sasuke and Naruto wrestling in the ocean water, their uproarious laughter audible even from sixteen floors up.

"Mission accomplished," Kiba uttered proudly.

"Think we'll be invited to their wedding?" Ino asked with sparkling eyes.

"Mm, they have a ways to go yet," Kakashi looked up from his book for once.

"But they're happy." Everyone was surprised to hear Shino speak up.

"And that's the only thing that matters," Gaara finished, his stoic expression replaced by a small, genuine smile.

"And cue the cheesy, romantic lines." Kiba muttered, but seeing their friends having the time of their lives, even he had to give in to his sappy sentimentals.

And they watched, as Sasuke and Naruto rolled around on the beach in utter bliss. After all, happiness was a contagious little beast.

* * *

"MY NIICHAN'S GETTING LAAAAIIIIIIID!" Konohamaru screamed, leapfrogging off Kiba's shoulders and straight into the glass of the window with a loud thud.

"Goddamnit!" Kiba cursed, rubbing his shoulders. "Why's it always _me?!"_

* * *

**A/N: **(Edit) So I made a couple of minor changes in this! I've decided that next chapter's gonna be the last. It'll be coming out later, so stay alert for that! Ja :3 -Sarge


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Happy New Year, guys! It's also my birthday today (January 1st) so it's a pretty good day for me! Here's my first ever lemon to celebrate the start of a new year and hopefully many more to come with you all!

This is dedicated to the lovely AiMila, who has stuck with me from the very beginning. C:

**Disclaimer**: Naruto would be way too sore to even think about being a ninja if he were mine.

**Warnings: **Citrus fruits. Lewd activities. The good stuff.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

Naruto bent over Itachi's desk, grumbling to himself and riffling through the crate of file folders. Who knew that the impeccable, perfect Uchiha would turn out to be _this_ unorganized. Naruto snorted. "Easy to find? Not a chance," he muttered. Ever since their return from the trip to Gai's resort, Itachi had been working them all to death. Even Sasuke was beginning to get tired of it all, though Itachi blamed it on 'not being able to fuck little boyfriend into the ground every night.' The memories of that day made Naruto shudder and wince. Itachi sure knew how to make any situation embarrassing.

Naruto was beginning to get unduly frustrated by the whole situation. He'd gone through the entire crate three times already, with no sign of the requested folder. Growling in annoyance, he began flicking through the cream colored files even faster, being unnecessarily rough with the papers, squinting at the small handwriting on the tabs. Why the hell did Itachi insist on keeping his office so dim?

The door to the quiet room burst open, the wood hitting the wall with a loud thud. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his favorite spiky-haired raven quickly striding toward him, clad in a dark crimson button-up, a black tie, and black pants. The door bounced off the wall and slid shut with a click.

"Oi," Naruto called, hearing the footsteps approach and not once stopping the flicking motions of his hand, "Sasuke, come help me with this, will-AH!"

He was cut off as Sasuke wrapped a hand roughly around his waist with one arm from behind, the other coming up and grabbing his chin, tilting it to the right. "Sasuke, what are you-hah!" Naruto's words melted into a moan as Sasuke bent over him and attached his lips to Naruto's pulse, sucking fervently. "Not in here!" Naruto hissed, but his words sounded empty of conviction to even his ears as he began to voluntarily tilt his head even more, giving Sasuke more room. The raven began biting as he sucked, and his hips began pressing into Naruto's ass.

"You horny bastard!" Naruto yelped as Sasuke let go of his chin, instead grabbing his hips with both hands and turning the blonde around to face him. Sasuke took an arm and swept it over the surface of the cold metal desk, knocking the crate to the ground while the computer moniter teetered on the edge of the desk. He placed his free hand on Naruto's chest, pushing him down on his back to the surface. Of course, Naruto had his say in this as well.

"Sasuke, what if someone walks in? What if-mmm!" Naruto was cut off yet again, Sasuke's lips covering his own. He sucked Naruto's bottom lip into his mouth, swiping his tongue along the length of the soft skin. Both were soon lost to the quiet moans and smacking noises, and neither could tell whose moans they were. Their tongues tangled together, battling for dominance, until Sasuke shoved his leg in between Naruto's. Naruto gasped and blushed, pulling away from Sasuke's mouth and raising his body up slightly. He made to say something, but Sasuke only pressed his leg harder into the blonde's groin, making his head fall back with a breathy moan.

"You're so beautiful," Sasuke murmured, his eyes fixed on Naruto's pleasure-contorted expression. He took his leg away, only to spread Naruto's thighs wider apart. Naruto's head shot back up at this, seeing Sasuke align their hips. The raven leaned forward and kissed Naruto chastely, before grinding his crotch roughly into Naruto's.

"Aah!" Naruto moaned loudly, his head falling back once more and his back hitting the table with a hollow thud. "Goddamn…rapist…" he panted as Sasuke began his slow, steady pace of thrusting. Sasuke only grinned into the crook of Naruto's neck.

"It's not rape if it's willing," he smirked. "And you seem to be more than willing, aren't you, Naruto?" he breathed, leaning close to the blonde's ear. Naruto responded with a strangled cry, involuntarily raising his hips to meet Sasuke's grinding.

"It's on you…if we get- aungh- caught," Naruto tried to glare at the misty black eyes staring into his, but failed miserably at a sudden clenching feeling in his abdomen.

Sasuke pulled away as soon as he saw the blonde's eyes squeeze shut, and Naruto rolled his hips up at the lost contact. "You fucking bastard!" he breathed heavily. "Quit teasing me!"

"But then the fun would be over," Sasuke leered, taking in Naruto's flushed and sweaty appearance.

Naruto could feel his orgasm ebbing away, but the flames between his legs only burned even more. "Just _give it to me then!" _He gritted. The burning was unbearable, and he needed release. The lust was rapidly fogging over any self-restraint he had left, and he wasn't sure how much more he could take.

Sasuke chuckled throatily. "I love it when you get demanding." His hands clutched at Naruto's shirt, tearing it apart so that buttons flew in all directions with small clinks as they bounced off the desk and onto the carpeted floor.

"Come on, that was my favorite one, too," Naruto complained, but as Sasuke brushed his cool fingers across his chest, all thoughts of protest were chased from his mind. He lifted himself from his sprawled position, shedding what remained of his shirt quickly. Sasuke took his chance and leaned forward, kissing Naruto's forehead, temple, and then making his way back down to the blonde's neck. The perfect tanned skin was simply begging to be marred and marked, and Sasuke was more than happy to satisfy just that. He could feel Naruto's racing pulse against his tongue, the fevered flesh salty and smooth. Sasuke could cum from just the taste of Naruto.

"Oh, God," Naruto moaned, reaching to hastily unbuckle Sasuke's belt and unbutton his pants. The garment dropped down to his ankles, and Sasuke stepped out of the constricting material while kicking off his shoes. He stood, still attached to Naruto's neck, in only his black boxers and his red shirt.

Naruto couldn't be bothered by removing the shirt, instead reaching under it and running his hands from Sasuke's toned stomach slowly to his chest, and back down again, toying with the hem of the silk shorts. As Sasuke grunted and thrust forward in a silent plea for Naruto to reach in, the blonde's neck rumbled under his lips in an amused laugh. Naruto decided to be merciful, unlike his sadistic bastard of a boyfriend, and dipped his hand under the hem, wrapping his slender fingers around the shaft of Sasuke's pulsing organ.

Sasuke let go of Naruto's neck, but remained bent over, gasping at the thrills of pleasure racing up his spine. He let out a strangled groan as the fingers tightened, taking deep breaths in order to control himself. As Naruto's hand began stroking, squeezing at different intervals and massaging all of his sensitive spots, a half yell forced its way from Sasuke's vocal cords, riding along the breath of his exhale. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto's torso, biting into his shoulder as Naruto's hand stroked faster and faster. His teeth clenched as he was on the brink of release-

But then the pleasurable heat withdrew. Naruto snatched his hand back from Sasuke's boxers, Sasuke releasing the bronze shoulder and staring in disbelief at the fingers that wiggled teasingly at him.

"It's my turn to tease now, jackass," Naruto smirked mischievously.

Sasuke only growled and dug his fingers into the leather of Naruto's belt, undoing it and shoving both boxers and pants off the slender hips. Naruto's erection sprang up, free of the material holding it back, and Naruto immediately flushed red in embarrassment.

Sasuke lowered himself in front of Naruto's member, splaying his fingers around tantalizingly close to the base of his cock. "You are _this _hard already," Sasuke grinned ferally.

"What do you expect?" Naruto turned even redder with indignation. "You stopped me from cumming!"

"Hmm, I guess I do owe you for that, don't I?" Sasuke's eyes lowered to Naruto's member, flicking his tongue playfully at the shining beads of precum collecting at the head. Not waiting for an answer, Sasuke took the hardened flesh into his mouth all at once, sucking on it harshly. Naruto's knees trembled at the sensation as he keened loudly, attempting to buck into Sasuke's mouth.

"Jesus!" Naruto hissed, shoving his wrist between his teeth to keep from screaming at the sensations. Sasuke savored every moan that he managed to pull from the man's throat, yearning to pleasure Naruto until he was hoarse and shaking. He moved his fingers to the delicate hipbones jutting out, his lips sliding slowly over Naruto's member. His tongue laved at the pulsing vein along the underside, drawing slow circles around the head, tonguing the slit. Naruto bit down even harder, clenching his eyes shut as a muffled scream tore through the otherwise quiet room. He removed his teeth from his wrist and instead slammed it hard onto the desk as his hips rolled forward, cumming hard into Sasuke's mouth.

Sasuke savored every drop of the bittersweet liquid, swallowing every last bit of it and smirking as Naruto collapsed. Sasuke stood slowly, reaching into one of the drawers and pulling out a blue bottle, snapping the cap open. Naruto raised his head blearily at the sharp popping sound, his eyes widening momentarily.

"Bastard!" Naruto fumbled for leverage on the table as Sasuke hitched his legs over his shoulders, blushing as Sasuke stared. "Who said I was the submissive one in this relationship?!"

"Mutual agreement," Sasuke laughed huskily, turning the bottle upside down and squeezing a liberal amount of the gel-like stuff into his hand, spreading it over his fingers. "You're too pretty and soft to dominate." He flung the bottle aside and planted a passionate kiss on Naruto's lips as he began running a finger around the rim of Naruto's hole, the blonde's breaths becoming shallower as Sasuke slowly sunk his finger in.

"You look more like a girl than I do," Naruto groaned, closing his eyes as a second finger went in, his manhood already beginning to harden once more. Sasuke began scissoring, adjusting his angle and searching for Naruto's sweet spot.

Naruto's legs twitched violently, telling Sasuke he'd found it. Sasuke smirked even wider as he began assaulting it repeatedly, Naruto's moans growing louder and his back arching off the desk. By the time he was a sobbing, moaning mess, Sasuke was far from done.

Sasuke quickly ran his lube covered fingers up and down his dick a few times until he deemed it slick enough. His arousal buzzing in his veins, Sasuke aligned himself, and slowly sank until he was completely sheathed in Naruto's heat. Sasuke moaned softly at the sensation, growing heady. He slowly pulled out and thrust back in, allowing Naruto to adjust to his girth.

Naruto gritted his teeth at the slightly uncomfortable, but not unfamiliar, sensations. Sasuke went real slow, being extra careful as though Naruto was made of glass. It wasn't until Sasuke adjusted his angle that Naruto's vision blasted pure white, tears squeezing from his tear ducts at the unexpected pleasure. He let out a gasp, and Sasuke paused in his thrusts.

"Harder," Naruto choked, pushing himself back into Sasuke's hips. Sasuke repositioned Naruto's legs more securely on his shoulder before reaching under and grabbing Naruto's hips, gradually rolling his hips harder and faster.

"Oh, Jesus Christ," Naruto keened loudly, heat building up in his groin. He'd never experienced pleasure this intense before, and it felt fucking amazing. Sasuke leaned forward, pressing his lips to Naruto's sweaty chest, his own beads of sweat rolling down his forehead as the cacophony of moans and grunts filled their ears. Sasuke was hitting his prostate dead on with each time he thrust and pulled out, and Naruto could feel the heat begin to curl in his lower abdomen all too soon. He clenched his teeth, opening his eyes to look down, locking eyes with Sasuke's fogged, lust clouded ones. He glanced down, and the erotic sight of Sasuke slamming into him proved to be the breaking point.

For the second time that day, Naruto's abs clenched with the force of his release, the white liquid spattering all over Sasuke's muscled chest and dripping back onto himself. His walls clamped down on Sasuke, and he couldn't hold out much longer either, his semen shooting into Naruto as Sasuke collapsed on top of the smaller man.

Naruto panted, a faint smile adorning his features. "Heh, you turned out to be quite the moaner. I'm impressed, you usually seem so cold and silent."

Sasuke propped himself up on his forearms, an unusually affectionate glow in his eyes as he stared into the face of his lover. "Dobe."

Naruto chuckled, reaching his hands up and drawing circles on Sasuke's chest with the remnants of their pleasure. "But then again, that was an extraordinarily-"

"Hey guys!" Kiba's cheerful voice rang out, interrupting their exchange as the room was suddenly flooded with light as the door was opened wide. "Want to have dinner-"

"GET OUT!" Naruto shrieked, looking mortified.

Kiba focused on the scene in front of him for the first time, and visibly jumped about four feet into the air. "Jesus, man!" He yowled, his voice cracking in his horror. "Fucking get a room next time, you horny little shits!" He turned tail immediately and sprinted out of the room, throwing a hand out and knocking the door so it swung shut.

"Che," Sasuke snorted, finally pulling out of Naruto and grabbing his pants, the buckle of his belt clinking. "We should have fired him years ago."

"Ah, I dunno," Naruto frowned slightly as he gathered the remnants of his shirt. "He does make it interesting around here." Naruto paused, and his eyes grew wide. "Holy shit, we just had sex on our boss's desk!"

"He was expecting it anyway, he's been telling me to disinfect it every time we get ready to leave."

"And now Kiba's going to tell everyone!" Naruto clapped a hand over his eyes in humiliation.

"He wouldn't dare, he knows what I would do to him."

Naruto glared at Sasuke through a gap between his fingers with one blue eye. "You're a fucking sadistic bastard, you know that?"

"It's good to be king."

Naruto attempted to sit up, but fell back with a crash. "Ow, my ass." He winced. "You sure are rough."

Sasuke chuckled. "Wait till I'm done with you after tonight. Or should I say…" he glanced slyly over his shoulder at the collapsed Naruto. "When I'm done with you in the morning."

Silence.

Then the whole building shook. "SASUKE, NO! YOU EVIL BASTARD!"

-**Owari-**

* * *

**A/N: **Man, that was fun to write. Even though I'm blushing like crazy, you wouldn't believe how red I got. Ah well, worth it in the end. This whirlwind of a series is done, the tale is ended. Thank you all for sticking around, and as cliché as it sounds, I hope to see you in many more stories to come in the new year. Now I can FINALLY update Worlds Apart. Ja ne, for now! Sarge out.


End file.
